Never Let Go
by Faberrittanainthetardis
Summary: Joey and Charlie meet onboard a ship. Coincidence or Fate? Drama, Angst, Romance and love are the consequences as Joey works to show Charlie what real love is about.
1. Chapter 1

**Here's the new fic. Posted as promised. I just want to take the time to thank everyone who reviewed for 'Bless the broken road' again. You guys really helped me get into writing CJ Fanfiction.**

**So anyway here's the new fic. Just a quick warning that it may contain abuse of the physical, mental and (Suggested) sexual variety. Also I really don't like Hugo and...I think that shows lol. So I hope you like the start of this and want me to continue? It's AU by the way and based **_**very loosely**_** a movie. **

Chapter 1 

A dark haired girl rushed through the crowds dodging and ducking oncoming people who shook their heads in annoyance. She finally caught sight of who she was looking for and slowed down as a grin tugged at her lips. She rushed over to him and jumped onto his back almost knocking him over. He managed to keep his balance however.

"...And this is Joey" Aden winced slightly as Joey looked over his shoulder and noticed that he had been talking to a blonde girl of about 20.

"Oh sorry" Joey dropped from Aden's back and stepped forward holding her hand out to the blonde "I'm Joey. Joey Collins"

"Samantha" the blonde smiled as she took Joey's hand and shook it "Most people just call me Sam or Sammy though"

"Well it's nice to meet you Sammy" Joey grinned and released the other girl's hand "Feel free to call me whatever you want"

"I'm sure I will" Sam laughed "Right now I'm thinking your name kind of suits you though"

Joey raised her eyebrows questioningly "What do you mean?"

"I just mean...are you always so...Uh, what's the word?" Sam thought for a moment trying to find something that wouldn't offend the brunette "Jumpy? Hyper?"

"Yep" Joey nodded "Pretty much all of the time since I was a kid. I seem to have an endless amount of energy. You should see me in the..."

"Okay!" Aden placed his hand over Joey's mouth to stop her from talking and pulled her slightly closer "That's enough of that conversation" he glanced at Sam "Ignore her. She's always this flirty with eve..." he trailed off suddenly and pulled his hand quickly away from Joey's mouth wiping it quickly on his jeans "Joey! You licked my hand!"

Joey shrugged innocently and turned to Sam "I'm not flirty really. I just have certain social skills which Aden seems to lack"

"Hey!" Aden nudged her playfully "That's not true!"

"Well it was nice meeting you Joey" Sam smiled at their interaction "But I really should be going...I have a ride to catch"

"It was nice meeting you too" Joey grinned at her.

"See you later..." Sam offered them a small wave as she began to walk backwards "See ya Aid"

"Bye" the responded in unison.

"She seemed nice" Joey said as she turned to face her friend.

"She works with me" Aden narrowed his eyes playfully at Joey in warning "So hands off okay Jo?"

"You're no fun anymore" Joey grumbled teasingly before she moved forward and hugged him tightly "Hi by the way"

"Hey" Aden smiled as he returned the friendly hug before pulling back "So where are we going today?"

"Wherever the wind takes us" Joey grinned mysteriously and took his arm urging him to start walking.

"That _really_ answered my question" Aden said sarcastically.

"Chillax" Joey stopped for a moment and looked around. They were currently standing next to a large dock, crowded with hundreds of people "That place looks interesting" she pulled the man quickly with her into a bar.

"God, I'm glad I eventually have time off work" Aden muttered as they moved over to the bar together "That last haul was hell" he dumped his bag at his feet and leaned on the bar.

"Why?" Joey waved the bartender over to them "an orange juice and a JD please"

"It was long" Aden shrugged "Plus I had to work with this guy who was a right prick"

Joey nodded and absently twirled her straw around in her drink "Oh..."

"Orange juice?" Aden raised an eyebrow at her as he took a drink of his beer.

"You know I hate that stuff" Joey motioned to the alcohol in Aden's hand in disgust.

"And yet you won't tell me why" Aden leaned his head on his hand and gazed at her intently "Seriously Jo we've been friends for years and you still avoid answering that question"

Joey shook her head "That would be because I don't want to answer it"

Aden sighed but changed the subject to avoid upsetting Joey "So what are we going to do today anyway?"

"Game of poker?" Joey grinned and motioned over his shoulder. Aden turned around and spotted a group of men playing poker.

"I can't play..." Aden began to protest but Joey was already pulling him through the crowd and towards the men.

"Hey" she smiled charmingly at the guys as she stopped at their table "You mind if we join?" she batted her eyelashes for added effect.

"Of course" a guy to her left jumped off his seat allowing her to sit down.

"I'm Joey by the way" Joey smiled at the guys "This is Aden"

"Hey" The guys introduced themselves as Andy, Leo, Steve, Johnny and Mark.

"So let's place our bets" Andy said as he dug in his pocket and pulled out a handful of notes which he dumped on the table. The other guys too placed their money on the table. Joey reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of notes.

Aden sighed and sat back to watch his incredibly competitive friend play the game.

---

"Joey..." Aden said quietly into Joey's ear "We've run out of money!"

"Hmm?" Joey muttered distractedly "It's okay"

"Joey..."

"I have to win those tickets!" Joey gestured to the two boat tickets on the table "It's important to me Aid!"

Aden sighed and sank back again.

"Fold" Andy groaned and threw his cards down on the table. Johnny, Mark and Steve did the same.

"Not folding?" Leo looked up into Joey's eyes and smirked at her.

"Nope" Joey shook her head and met his eyes.

Leo dropped his cards on the table and motioned for Joey to do the same. Joey dropped her cards and grinned triumphantly "I win!"

Leo's expression dropped in disappointment and he took a deep drink from his bottle of beer.

"If you want to catch that Boat I'd head off now" Andy suggested with a grin "It leaves in 6 minutes"

"Shit!" Joey stood up and took the money off the table, putting it quickly into her pockets "Come on Aid!" She grabbed the tickets and Aden's hand pulling him from the bar. She paused for a minute when they got outside the bar and looked around quickly. She spotted the huge ship almost immediately and her breath caught in her throat at its beauty. It was white and black with 'S.S Rose' written on the side.

"Joey..." Aden stated as he rushed through the crowd with the younger girl "What are we doing? This is crazy!"

"I know!" Joey grinned breathlessly "But look at it Aid...It's a beauty"

The man couldn't help but agree as they managed to reach the boat and climb aboard just in time.

"It'll be fun" Joey smiled reassuringly as she leaned against the edge of the boat "You'll see"

"I have no idea why I let you drag me into things like this" Aden said as he looked around the ship "But I suppose you're right"

"I'm always right!" Joey exclaimed smugly "I'm ju..." her gaze focused on something over Aden's shoulder and her jaw dropped slightly "Oh My God..."

"What?" Aden turned around and followed her gaze to where a woman was standing "Oh..."

"She's...Wow" Joey found herself at an unusual loss for words as she stared at the dark haired woman wearing a white dress which stopped just above her knees. She was standing with an older woman and a muscular man "She's beautiful..." she moved forward towards the woman subconsciously.

"Whoa!" Aden grabbed her arm and tugged her back to his side "Don't even think about it Jo...That's Charlie Buckton. The fiancé of one of the richest men in the city. You don't stand a chance with her. People like us and people like them don't mix..."

Joey nodded but kept her eyes trained on the stunning woman just across the deck. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment as the woman looked towards her as if sensing her gaze. Joey was instantly captivated by the intense blue eyes that locked onto hers but she couldn't help but notice the pain they held "She looks sad..."

"What?"

"Uh...Nothing" Joey shook her head as Charlie turned away.

---

Charlie sighed sadly as she gazed at herself in the mirror. She tentatively raised a hand and pressed against the fresh bruise on her ribs eliciting a gasp of pain. She looked up into her tear clouded eyes and quickly wiped them away. She turned away from the mirror and slipped on her dress conveniently hiding the dark bruises on her body.

"Charlie..." a man called out as he walked into the room "We're leaving in a few minutes...Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah" Charlie nodded hesitantly.

"Don't you think that dress is a bit short?" he asked sceptically.

"No..." Charlie looked down self consciously.

The man's face darkened in anger and he moved over to her in two huge steps. Charlie winced as he grabbed her face roughly in one hand forcing her to look at him "Don't mess with me Charlie. You know that today is important and I don't want you looking like a slut!"

"Hugo, you're hurting me!" Charlie struggled to get out of his hold but to no avail as tears sprang again to her eyes.

"It's too late to change" Hugo pushed her back onto the bed behind her "Hurry up. We're leaving right now!" with that said he marched furiously from the room.

Charlie stayed still on the bed for a moment allowing tears to fall steadily from her eyes. A loud bellow caused her to jump.

"CHARLIE NOW!"

She jumped quickly from the bed and grabbed her bag before rushing out of the room wiping her tears as she did so.

---

"I think it's going to be a brilliant business venture..." Hugo spoke to an elderly gentleman "As you know I've been looking for something valuable to work on..."

"I agree" An older woman nodded.

Charlie watched disinterestedly as her Fiancé and Aunt talked business to the older man. She shifted slightly and winced in pain when her ribs protested against the movement. She briefly wondered if Hugo had done enough damage to break something this time.

"Are you okay?" the elderly man asked in concern as he noticed the wince.

Charlie froze as Hugo glared at her in warning "Uh...I'm fine" she felt relief wash over her when the three people turned back to their conversation. After a moment she felt eyes on her from behind and looked power her shoulder. Her breath escaped her as she met gentle dark brown eyes belonging to a young woman across the deck. The dark haired girl was dressed casually in form fitting Jeans and a Kings of Leon Band tee with a backpack slung over her shoulder. She stared back just as intently.

"Charlie?" Hugo's voice sounded angrily "Charlie, are you even listening to me?!"

Charlie reluctantly shifted her gaze from the girl's and back to Hugo. When she was finally able to risk a glance back the girl had vanished.

TBC?


	2. Chapter 2

**So here's the next Chapter! Thanks so much for all of the reviews guys. I really love to here what you think :) Hope the chapter's okay...**

Chapter 2

"Joey?" Aden waved a hand in front of his friend's face "Earth to Joey"

"Huh?" Joey jerked to attention and looked at Aden in surprise "What?"

"Were you day dreaming about that girl again?" Aden grinned "Damn I've never seen you worked up about any relationship you've had never mind somebody very unavailable you haven't even met yet"

Joey shrugged and leaned her head on her hand looking over the side of the ship "I can't help it. There's just...Something about her that calls to me"

"Her stunning good looks?" the man guessed.

"Well...Yeah" Joey nodded slowly "But that's not all. There's more to it than just the way she looks Ade..."

"You've only actually seen her once"

"Twice" Joey corrected "And both times she looked back at me so...there!"

"Which means she probably thinks you're some sort of stalker" Aden pointed out "Plus you haven't actually talked to her. She could just be a bitchy snob for all you know Jo"

"Whatever" Joey grumbled as she looked away from him.

"I'm just saying" Aden shrugged in defence "I don't want to see you get hurt, that's all. And she's straight, remember? She's getting married to that rich guy"

"Yeah" Joey rolled her eyes "I don't know why she would want to marry that pig though" at Aden's questioning look she continued "He treats her like crap. I saw him yelling at her yesterday because she bloody dropped something"

"Are you following her around the ship?" Aden asked incredulously "Because that actually is stalking"

"No!" Joey narrowed her eyes at him "I'm not following her around the ship. I just happened to see her that's all"

"Good" Aden sighed in relief "That's good...But Joey regardless of the way he treats her it's not your problem. You don't even know her"

Joey shrugged and glanced down "Would it sound insane if I said that I feel like I know her?"

Aden paused for a moment at the confusion in the girl's voice "It does sound a bit crazy Jo...Especially for you to be the one saying it to me"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Joey questioned sharply.

"I just mean that you're not exactly the type of person to...allow yourself to feel connected to somebody" Aden bit his lip guiltily "Sorry"

Joey exhaled deeply "It doesn't matter. We both know it's true but...I don't know. It's really weird Aden"

"Just ignore it" Aden slung an arm comfortingly around her shoulders "It may not seem like very good advice but...If you follow this up you might get hurt Jo"

"I know" Joey nodded despondently "You're right. I can ignore this connection. I'm not good with relationships anyway"

Aden nodded shortly "So what are your plans for today?"

"I don't know" Joey said quietly "I'll probably just walk around the boat...Sit around in the bar. What about you?"

Aden tried to ignore the disappointment in Joey's voice and answered as cheerfully as he could "I'm gonna head down to the bar...Play some pool. You should join me"

"Thanks for the offer" Joey grinned at him "But I'm gonna stay on the deck for a while. You know what I'm like with boats and the open water"

"Yeah" Aden laughed "I certainly do" he hugged her quickly Try to stay out of trouble okay?"

"No promises" Joey winked before he shook his head and walked away.

"Hmmn...Now what should I do?" she pushed herself away from the side of the ship and began to walk slowly along the deck.

---

"I have a meeting today" Hugo spoke as he pulled his tie tight and looked over at Charlie "So I won't be back until later tonight...Okay?"

"Right" Charlie nodded slowly and averted her eyes to the ground.

"Right?!" Hugo rolled his eyes at her "That's all you have to say?"

Charlie hesitated for a moment unsure as to what he wanted from her "Um...I'll see you later on tonight?"

"Now it sounds like you can't wait to get rid of me" Hugo sighed irritably. He walked over to where she sat on the bed and loomed over her menacingly.

"Well what do you want me to say?" Charlie's voice was low and nervous as she shuffled slightly away from the man.

"It doesn't matter" Hugo snapped "It's bloody useless trying to talk to you"

Charlie stood up from the bed "I'm going to get ready..." she was stopped as Hugo grabbed her wrist roughly and tugged her back to him, causing her to wince in pain.

"I expect you to be here when I get in" he grinned sleazily "Or you know what's going to happen, Charlie"

Charlie pulled herself from his grip and rubbed her wrist "Fine" she began to walk away before Hugo's voice once again stopped her progress "And Charlie?"

"Yes Hugo?" she turned back around to face him, knowing it only aggravated him more when she didn't look at him when he was talking to her.

"Wear something appropriate" Hugo nodded towards her "To hide the bruises you cause. Wouldn't want anybody finding out about that, would we?" He turned quickly on his heel and left the room.

Charlie released the breath she'd been holding and sank to the ground in relief. She leaned back and closed her eyes finally allowing her tears to spill. After a moment however she wiped her eyes quickly and pushed herself to her feet, closing her partially open robe to conceal her bruises. She walked the small distance into the bathroom and pushed the door shut behind her. She hesitated at the lock unsure as to what Hugo's reaction would be if he came back and found that she had locked him out.

"Fuck him" she muttered to herself before she locked the door. The last thing she wanted was his hands on her if he decided to come back. She reached up and turned the shower on before she began to pull her clothes off as slowly as possible so she didn't disturb the many cuts and bruises on her body.

"Okay..." she stepped into the hot shower and gritted her teeth in pain as the water collided painfully with the marks on her body. She looked down and frowned as her eyes fell upon the newest bruise on her abdomen. As the water from the shower continued to cascade over her she thought back to when things had started to go wrong with Hugo. Their relationship had been going great in the beginning right up to when he had asked her to marry him and she had accepted albeit reluctantly. After that their relationship or rather Hugo had changed dramatically. He became moody and snapped at her up until he had lost control and shoved her. The first time he had actually hit her had completely shocked Charlie though she still didn't end their relationship...

"_Why do you do things that will piss me off?!" Hugo growled as he paced back and forth in front of Charlie "You just...say things to annoy me!"_

"_I was only kidding!" Charlie rolled her eyes at him and started to walk away "Calm down Hugo..."_

_Hugo grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. Without releasing her arm he backhanded her hard. Charlie's hand shot to her cheek in pain and shock. _

"_Don't tell me to calm down!" he growled furiously at her "And don't even think about telling anybody about this...Got it?!"_

_Charlie nodded tearfully and he pushed her roughly away from him. The shove was so hard that Charlie almost tripped. _

After that event he was careful not to hit her anywhere people could actually see. Charlie had never thought of herself as the type of person to stay in an abusive relationship and she had been prepared to leave on a number of occasions but Hugo always begged and threatened her until she came back. Now the abuse had just become a common part of their relationship.

"I'm such an idiot" Charlie cursed herself for her predicament as she sunk to the floor of the shower in sobs.

---

Joey moved quickly across the deck so intent on finding Aden that she wasn't even watching where she was going. She started as she bumped roughly into somebody sending them both tumbling to the floor.

"Oh! Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was go..." Joey looked up and found herself immediately drowning into two large Blue eyes "I...Um..."

"Sorry" Charlie apologised softly "I can be such a klutz sometimes" she stood up and offered the other girl a hand "I'm..."

"Charlie" Joey smiled as she took Charlie's hand and stood up "Yeah, I know. I'm Joey by the way"

"Joey..." Charlie repeated as if trying it out "How do you know my name?"

"Um...I've seen you around" Joey shrugged.

"Oh...Okay" Charlie pulled her hand away from Joey's as she realised she hadn't let go yet "Well it's nice to meet somebody normal around here Joey"

"Normal?" Joey raised her eyebrows in question.

"Most of these people are here on business" Charlie explained gesturing at the people around them "And most of the others don't seem very...Approachable. Maybe it's just me"

"Definitely not just you" Joey grinned "I was just heading to the bar...Feel like joining me?"

"Sure" Charlie smiled for the first time in days at the invite. She followed Joey to the small bar and they sat down at a table. She became aware after a moment that Joey seemed to be looking for something "What are you looking for?"

"I was just looking for my friend Aden" Joey responded as she sat back down in her seat and gazed intently at Charlie "I thought he would be around here"

"If you want to go look for him..."

"No!" Joey exclaimed quickly "I'm fine here...So what are you drinking?"

"Erm White wine please" Charlie answered. She watched as Joey walked away and found that she couldn't take her eyes off the younger girl. Flustered, she looked down at the table.

"Here ya go!" Joey's voice sounded after a moment as she placed a glass of wine in front of Charlie causing her to look up.

"Thanks" she offered a small smile.

"No problem" Joey sat down opposite and sipped at her Coke "So...What is it that you do, Charlie?"

"I'm a police officer" Charlie smiled "I'm taking some time off though"

"Wow" Joey said in surprise "I'll have to make sure I don't do anything wrong when you're around then won't I?"

"I might let you off" Charlie laughed at the younger girl "So what do you do Joey?"

"I work on boats. Doesn't pay much but I love it" Joey grinned happily.

Charlie couldn't help but return Joey's infectious smile "So you must be pretty used to this...I'm not so lucky. I get extremely sea sick"

"Not a good thing to be on a boat with" Joey winced sympathetically "So what about your family? If you don't mind me asking..."

"My Dad passed away a while ago" Charlie replied sadly "And My Mum died when I was young so all I have now is my daughter"

"Not with you?" Joey asked finding that she couldn't remember seeing Charlie with anyone other than Hugo.

"No" Charlie shook her head "She didn't want to. She really doesn't like Hugo...My fiancé. In fact she can't stand to be in the same room as him for more than five minutes"

"Oh" Joey nodded slowly understanding how Charlie's daughter felt "How old is she?"

"15" Charlie answered. She smiled when she noticed Joey's slightly surprised expression "I ran into some trouble when I was younger. It's...complicated" she pulled her purse out of her pocket and offered it to Joey "That's her...Her names Ruby"

Joey smiled as she looked at the picture which showed Charlie with her arms around a younger girl "She kind of looks like you" she looked up and grinned at the other girl "Lucky her"

Charlie blushed not really used to compliments anymore.

---

Charlie and Joey walked out of the bar, giggling like crazy. They calmed down slightly as they leaned against the side of the ship.

"I had fun today" Charlie smiled at her companion "More fun than I've had in a really long time...Thank you Joey"

"No problem" Joey shrugged as she placed her hand on top of Charlie's "I really enjoyed your company. We should do it again sometime"

"Yeah..." Charlie gaze dropped down to their hands marvelling at the reaction Joey could provoke with such a simple touch.

Joey too looked down at their hands and she frowned when she noticed the dark bruising around Charlie's wrist "Hey...What happened to your wrist?"

"What?" Charlie jerked back guiltily and hid her wrist from view "Nothing. I mean..." she looked around noticing it was getting dark and panic filled her at what Hugo would do if she was late "I have to go...Bye Joey"

"Charlie! Wait!" Joey called out when Charlie stopped and turned back she continued "Will I see you again sometime?"

"Sure" Charlie smiled "I look forward to it" with that she turned quickly and rushed away.

Joey grinned to herself as she began to walk back towards her cabin "So much for snobby and bitchy Aden..."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"I'm going to ask you again" Hugo's voice was low and dangerous as he paced slowly back and forth in front of Charlie "Why were you late last night?"

Charlie swallowed heavily painfully aware of the fact that if he hadn't hit her straight away it meant that he was really furious "Um...I wasn't really late"

"I told you to be here when I got back from the meeting" Hugo continued quietly "I showed up. You weren't even here Charlie. Where _were_ you?"

"I was at the bar" Charlie answered nervously.

"Right" Hugo laughed bitterly "I'm out working my ass off and you decide to go and get drunk at some stupid bar!"

"It wasn't like that!" Charlie defended weakly "I wasn't getting drunk. I must have lost track of the time that's all"

"Of course you did!" Hugo shook his head and clenched his hands into fists "How am I supposed to know you weren't screwing around behind my back?"

Charlie chose not to point out that he was the only person out of the two of them who did any kind of screwing around and instead remained silent.

"Answer me!" Hugo yelled angrily and took a large step forward. Charlie flinched and moved away effectively trapping herself against the wall.

"I wasn't doing anything..."

"How am I supposed to believe anything you say?!" the man questioned in fury "You said you would be back. Who were you with?!"

Charlie hesitated for a moment as she thought of Joey "...Nobody"

"I expect to know where you are Charlie" Hugo continued slowly "You need to do exactly what I say. You know that"

"Why?" the word slipped from Charlie's lips before she could stop it and she felt a flash of panic at her sudden bravery.

"BECAUSE I SAID SO!" Hugo lunged forward and punched the wall to the right of her head causing her to jump "Don't talk back to me Charlie. You know what happens when you do" he smirked when Charlie flinched again and he leaned close to her "I know that you wouldn't have been with anybody else anyway. I mean who else would want you? I don't even know why _I_ put up with you sometimes apart from the fact that you're a good lay"

Charlie whimpered slightly as he moved his hand to her right shoulder and pressed against it hard "Any more of that back chat and you know what will happen"

"I could leave you" Charlie's voice came out hushed.

Hugo gritted his teeth angrily "You know you wouldn't dare leave me. Do you think I would just accept it? I'd get you back...You and your stupid daughter!"

"Leave her alone!" for the first time raw anger flared in Charlie's eyes "If you touch her..."

"You'll what?!" Hugo laughed "There's nothing you can do...Anyway what would you do if you left me? Nobody else would bloody have you"

Charlie shook her head silently willing the tears away from her eyes.

"You're a waste of space Charlie" Hugo said callously "I'm only doing this because...I love you for some reason"

"Great" Charlie mumbled sarcastically under her breath. She froze fearfully when Hugo's expression hardened in fury.

"I told you not to talk back" Hugo growled angrily before he raised his fist...

---

"She's just amazing Ade" Joey sighed happily as she flopped onto her friend's bed "She's just...Wow"

"So you've said about a million times" Aden grinned from the edge of the bed "Don't you have your own room? You never seem to leave mine"

"She's just perfect" Joey continued as if she hadn't heard him speak "She's smart, she's funny, she's friendly and God she's beautiful...I don't know how but she's way more beautiful up close"

"You starting to remind me of a love sick puppy" Aden smiled as he leaned forward slightly "It's kind of scary"

Joey blushed and shrugged "There's just something about her that's...I don't know"

"I've never seen you like this before" Aden commented thoughtfully "She must be out of this world"

"She is" Joey beamed "She's lovely...Really lovely. We have this...connection. We just click"

"And what about her 'Fiancé'?" Aden reminded her reluctantly.

"He's an ass" Joey's expression darkened suddenly and she sat up to look at the man across from her.

"You haven't even met him" Aden responded in amusement "How can you know what he's like?"

Joey shrugged "I get the distinct impression that he doesn't appreciate her"

"And you do?" at Joey's annoyed look he held his hands up in defence "I'm just saying Jo. You've only actually talked to her once"

"It was a long talk!" Joey defended "And I know how I feel. Just because I don't really understand it..."

"Okay, I'm sorry" Aden relented quietly "Just promise me you won't do anything stupid okay, Joey? Don't get yourself into any trouble"

"I don't plan to" Joey smiled at him "Don't worry about me"

"You know I do" Aden responded sincerely "I kind of don't have any choice in that matter"

Joey moved over to him and impulsively hugged him "Thanks Ade. But I'll be fine. I promise"

"Good" Aden pulled away and grinned at her "So you were saying...?"

"You have to meet her" Joey said as she sat back on the bed "Then you'll see what I mean. She's just...Amazing. Plus she's incredibly adorable when she blushes"

Aden shook his head in amusement at his friend's change in behaviour and lay back on the bed, listening to her intently.

---

Joey hummed quietly to herself as she walked slowly along the deck. She had been trying to sleep for over two hours but her thoughts had kept her awake. She shivered slightly against the chilly night air and pulled her jacket tighter around her body.

A figure huddled at the bow of the boat caught her attention and she frowned in concern as she began to walk forward "Hey, are you..." she stopped short when she recognised the figure "Charlie..." she dropped to her knees next to the older girl and began to reach out. She pulled back quickly at Charlie's flinch.

"Charlie?" Joey spoke softly and slowly "It's me...Joey. Are you okay?"

"Joey..." Charlie looked up at her slowly.

Joey paled slightly when she noticed Charlie's bloody lip and ripped clothing "Yeah. It's just me" she reached out tentatively and placed her hand on Charlie's shaking arm "What happened to you?"

"It was an accident" Charlie lied quietly "I tripped...Hit my head"

"Then what are you doing out here?" Joey asked sceptically "You're going to catch a cold wearing only that...It's freezing" she sat up slightly and pulled her jacket off wrapping it gently around the other girl. She sighed sadly when Charlie winced.

"I had an argument with Hugo" Charlie explained tearfully "He threw me out...Told me not to come back tonight"

"Prick" Joey muttered to herself.

"It was my fault" Charlie shrugged "I started the argument"

"Come on" Joey spoke decisively as she gently helped Charlie to her feet "You're coming with me"

"What?!" Charlie responded in panic "No...Joey, I can't go back there right now!"

"You're not going back there" Joey smiled softly "You're coming with me. I'm not just going to leave you out here. I'll make you some tea or something and I'll fix you right up"

"Oh" Charlie nodded slowly and started to move forward. As soon as she did so though she yelped and stumbled.

"Whoa!" Joey quickly caught her before she fell "Are you Okay, Charlie? Maybe we should get a doctor or something..."

"Just my ribs" Charlie panted slightly "I must have hurt them when I fell..."

"Yeah...When you fell" Joey said disbelievingly as she wrapped an arm gently around the other girl's waist "Come on...We'll get back and I'll sort it, okay?"

"Sort it?" Charlie winced as she walked forward leaning heavily on Joey "What do you mean by that?"

"You know...Bandages, Antiseptic spray, Plasters..." Joey answered "I should have a first aid kit in my room"

Charlie felt a wave of fear hit her as she thought about what Joey would say when she saw the old and new bruises but she was in no condition to refuse the help. Anyway, she found herself oddly comforted by the feeling of Joey's arm around her.

"There!" Joey exclaimed quietly as she entered her room with Charlie and set her lightly on the bed "I'll be back in a minute...Will you be okay here"

"Yeah" Charlie nodded slowly and watched as Joey walked from the room, into a small connected kitchen. After a couple of minutes Joey returned with a cup of steaming tea in one hand and a bowl of water in her other. A first aid box was held between her arm and side.

"I don't want to be any trouble..." Charlie started guiltily as she watched Joey place the cup and bowl of water carefully on the bedside table "You shouldn't have to do this"

"I consider you my friend" Joey smiled warmly "And I help my friends out when they're in trouble so..." she sat on the bed next to Charlie and winked at her "Deal"

"If you're sure..." Charlie smiled nervously.

"I'm sure" Joey grabbed a piece of tissue from behind her and dampened it in the water. She looked up at Charlie meeting her eyes as she placed a hand on her cheek. She leaned forward slightly and dabbed gently at the cut on the older girl's lip with the tissue "I'm sorry if I'm hurting you..."

"You're not" Charlie answered breathily, not at all used to anybody showing this amount of tenderness with her.

"That's going to hurt tomorrow" Joey motioned to the bruise on Charlie's cheek.

"I'm used to it" Charlie's honest answer came before she could stop herself and she cursed herself as Joey frowned at her "I mean...Being a cop and all"

"Right" Joey sighed as she dropped the tissue back into the water and rechecked the cut to make sure it hadn't started to bleed again. She glanced down and bit her lips when she noticed a small patch of blood forming on Charlie's robe "I need you to um..." she motioned to the robe and blushed "So I can uh...Get to your ribs" she looked away.

"Erm...I can do that myself" Charlie said weakly "You don't have to do it Joey..."

"I know" Joey looked up and met her eyes "But I want to remember? I want to help you. I won't take no for an answer" she smiled reassuringly "And I won't peek if that's what you're worried about" She knew she couldn't make any promises but she could try not to look.

"Uh...Okay" Charlie said softly though her heartbeat sped up in panic as she moved to take off her robe. She met Joey's eyes as she did so trying to decipher her reaction.

Joey inhaled slowly as she noticed bruises on Charlie's upper arms, shoulders, neck and chest disappearing under the thin white tank top she wore "I need you to..." she motioned towards the tank top and Charlie nodded slowly before she moved to pull it off, wincing as she did so.

"Here" Joey said quietly as she moved forward "I'll help" she helped the other girl pull the top over her head and had to hold in her gasp as more cuts and bruises were revealed to her. Some new, some old. She once again met Charlie's eyes sadly.

"I'll be as quick as I can" Joey whispered reassuringly as she noticed Charlie shivering, in only her bra. The younger girl sat down on the edge of the bed and began to clean the scratch on Charlie's stomach as gently as possible.

"Charlie?" she questioned softly without looking up from her tender treatment.

"Yeah?" Charlie responded slowly.

"I'm going to ask you something and I need you to be honest with me, okay?" Joey's voice sounded seriously as she grabbed a bandage and placed it tenderly on the scratch.

"Okay..."

"Hugo did this didn't he?" Joey asked in a low voice "All of these bruises..."

"It's not his fault" Charlie sniffled quietly "It's me Joey. I'm not an easy person to be with"

"Doesn't seem that way to me" Joey countered as she pulled back "There's not really much I can do for the bruises..."

"It's okay" Charlie shrugged "You've done more than enough already"

"I'll get you a loose t-shirt" Joey stood up and walked over to the dresser feeling anger course through her at what Hugo had done. She paused for a minute to calm herself down before she turned and walked back over to Charlie "Here..."

"Thanks" Charlie smiled as she pulled the t-shirt on wincing as she did so "I mean it Joey. I really appreciate all of this..."

"You don't deserve to be treat like that" Joey said quietly "Nobody has the right to hit you. You deserve so much better."

Charlie shrugged "It was my fault..."

Joey shook her head sadly and handed Charlie some tablet's "Painkillers"

"Thanks" Charlie sat on the bed and took the pills with her tea. She placed the cup back down before looking back up at Joey "You won't say anything about this will you? It really was my fault...Not his"

"I don't believe that for a second" Joey sat down next to Charlie and took her hand "Nothing gives him the right to hit you Charlie. Nothing"

"I know that" Charlie's gaze fell to their hand's and she squeezed Joey's gently "But I can't leave him Jo. You have to understand"

"I don't"

"I can't leave him" Charlie repeated tearfully "I just can't...Everything will be okay after tonight and..." she trailed off and dissolved into quiet sobs.

"Hey" Joey said in alarm as she pulled the older girl into her arms "It's okay Charlie. Don't cry...You don't have to do anything you don't want to do"

Charlie clung tightly to Joey feeling safe and secure in her embrace for the first time in a long time. Joey eventually pulled back and wiped at Charlie's tears. Her fingers gently trailed across Charlie's lips to the small cut marvelling at their softness "It's okay..."

"It was just a stupid argument" Charlie sniffled "We'll be fine" she pulled completely away from Joey's warm comfort and wrapped her arms around herself.

Joey sighed and stood up "We'll see in the morning...You can have the bed. I'm fine on the floor"

"I don't want to cause..."

"Any trouble" Joey smiled knowingly "I know. It's okay. I want you to be as comfortable as possible with your...Injuries"

"Okay..." Charlie sighed softly as Joey walked out of the room and returned with an extra blanket and pillow which she set on the floor.

They lay in silence long after Joey had turned the lights off and they had lay down.

"Charlie?" Joey spoke in a hushed voice.

"Yeah?" Charlie whispered.

"How do you know that he won't hurt you again?" Joey asked quietly "How am I supposed to let you go knowing that he might?"

"He might" Charlie Confirmed as tears flowed silently from her eyes "But I'm just going to have to accept it"

"You could leave him" Joey said quietly "You don't have to put up with this"

"I can't..." Charlie responded firmly ending the discussion "Goodnight Joey..."

Joey sighed sadly "Night Charlie..."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey there guys thanks for all your wonderful reviews. I really appreciate them. Sorry for the overall crappy-ness of this Chapter...Really don't know what happened. Oh and don't worry about the 'meeting' thing...There will be no death in here. I swear. **

Chapter 4

Joey groaned quietly to herself and shifted her position uncomfortably on her makeshift bed. She sighed in frustration when she found that no position was very comfortable on the hard floor.

"Damn it..." she mumbled to herself.

"Sorry I kicked you out of your bed last night" a soft voice sounded "You really didn't have to do that for me"

"Charlie..." Joey moved on the bed so that she was sitting up "I didn't think you would still be here"

"Oh. Well I can go if you want me to..." Charlie responded sadly as she motioned towards the door.

"No!" Joey exclaimed quickly "I don't mean that I want you to go anywhere. I just thought you would have rushed off before I woke up..."

"Oh" Charlie nodded pensively and sat down next to Joey on the blanket covered ground "I made you some coffee" she smiled shyly and offered the cup in her hand to the younger girl "I hope you don't mind me going through your kitchen"

"I don't mind" Joey took the cup slowly "Thanks. But you didn't have to do that"

Charlie shrugged weakly and moved her gaze to her hands "It's the very least I can do after what you did for me last night"

Joey stayed silent and gazed intently at the other girl.

Charlie looked up after a moment of silence and noticed Joey's intense yet gentle gaze "What?"

"Nothing" Joey sighed "It doesn't matter right now..." she slowly raised her hand to rest on Charlie's cheek as her eyes moved to the dark bruise already forming "That looks sore"

"Feels sore" Charlie chuckled quietly "Pretty much everywhere actually"

Joey dropped her hand back to her side and looked away from Charlie "What are you going to do now than?"

"There's nothing to do" Charlie shrugged sombrely "I'll get out of here, go back to him and apologise for what happened last night. That's it"

Joey shook her head and stood up quickly "You're going to go and apologise to your pig of a boyfriend because he beat you up?"

"Erm...Yeah" Charlie nodded "But it's not like that Joey; you don't understand what I'm like..."

"What I don't understand" Joey interrupted loudly "Is how he could do that to you. You don't deserve it..."

"How do you know that?" Charlie questioned vulnerably "This is my fault. Not his"

Joey looked back at her disbelievingly "How can you even think that what he's doing is right? You're a cop Charlie. So tell me...Is domestic abuse right? Should he be allowed to do this to you?"

"No, of course not!" Charlie answered instantly "But there's nothing I can do right now to change the situation"

Joey ran a hand through her hair in frustration "You can leave him!"

"I should just go..." Charlie replied sadly "I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble last night..."

"No, wait...Don't go" Joey pleaded in a softer tone of voice "I'm sorry...I just don't understand this. At least come and have breakfast with me? We'll go down to the restaurant "

Charlie hesitated "I don't know..."

"C'mon" Joey stuck her bottom lip out "Pleeeeease?"

"Fine" Charlie caved unable to resist the puppy dog look the younger girl was sporting "I'll have breakfast with you"

"Good" a smile instantly brightened Joey's features "I just have to...get changed" she walked over to her dresser and grabbed some clothes in one hand "I'll be right back" she began to walk away pulling her shirt off as she did so.

"Wow..." Charlie whispered to herself as her eyes took in the flawless skin of Joey's retreating back.

"Did you say something?" Joey pressed her clothes to her chest and looked over her shoulder at Charlie.

"Huh...Uh...No!" Charlie spluttered blushing brightly though she found herself unable to drag her eyes away from the other girl "Nothing at all..."

"Right" Joey smiled at her before ducking into a joining room.

"Oh my God...What is going on with me?" Charlie breathed out as she waved a hand in front of her flushed face.

---

"This looks incredibly unhealthy" Charlie said thoughtfully as she looked down at the breakfast Joey had ordered for her.

"As if you need to worry about that" Joey grinned at her from across the table "You're a hottie"

"Thanks...I think" Charlie returned the smile brightly as she picked up her fork "Was that meant to be a compliment?"

"Uh-huh" Joey nodded "Not even a sleazy one at that"

"If you say so" Charlie laughed softly at the other girl. They both fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Joey spoke up hesitantly "Charlie?"

"Yeah?" Charlie looked up from her food into Joey's brown eyes.

"Your daughter...Ruby" Joey began apprehensively "She knew about this didn't she? What Hugo's doing to you I mean. And I'm guessing that's why she hated him so much?"

Charlie exhaled softly "Yeah...She noticed bruises which I couldn't explain to her and she asked me outright if Hugo was hitting me. I lied to her but...She walked in on us just as he punched me one day..."

"What did she do?" Joey asked quietly.

"She went mental" Charlie smiled adoringly as she thought of her daughter's protectiveness "She actually stood in front of me and hit him back"

"Good on her" Joey smiled, feeling herself beginning to like the girl already "She seems like a good kid"

"She is" Charlie grinned proudly "You would love her if you met her"

"I'm sure I would" Joey nodded "So what happened after that? With Ruby?"

Charlie's smile dimmed instantly "I tried harder to hide the bruises. She begged me to leave him but I kept refusing..."

"This has been going on for a long time?" Joey frowned sadly "And you still haven't left him?"

"It's not as simple as you're making it out to be Joey" Charlie responded slowly "I've tried to leave him but it never works out. It just makes everything so much worse so...I've decided to stay with him"

"He hits you Charlie!" Joey leaned slightly across the table "That isn't right...not at all!"

"Joey Shhh!" Charlie looked around in alarm to make sure nobody had heard "Somebody could hear you!"

"I don't care!" Joey reached across and placed her hand on top of Charlie's "You're just letting him..."

"Charlie!"

Charlie jumped as Hugo's voice sounded. She stood up quickly and turned around to face him. Joey too, stood up though her expression registered anger as Hugo walked over to them.

"Hey!" Hugo kissed Charlie's cheek "I missed you last night"

"Erm..." Charlie appeared unsure as to what to say.

"I'm willing to forgive you" Hugo smiled obliviously "For last night I mean. You know you were out of order by pushing me but...You can come home"

Joey clenched her fists at her side and had to physically restrain herself from hitting the man.

"I'm sorry" Hugo grinned at her as he held out his hand "I'm afraid we haven't met. I'm Hugo"

"Joey" Joey responded coldly as she reluctantly took the offered hand "I've certainly heard a lot about you"

"Yeah?" Hugo smirked as Joey pulled her hand back quickly "Charlie been talking about me again? All good things I hope"

"I wouldn't know about good..." Joey said in a low voice.

Charlie sent her a pleading look. If Hugo found out that Joey knew he'd be furious. The one thing he stressed over and over again was that nobody should find out what was happening.

"Well we should be going" Hugo wrapped his arm around Charlie's shoulders and squeezed a bit too tightly causing her to wince. Joey tensed, ready to make a move if he did anything else.

"Yeah..." Charlie agreed meekly "Bye Jo" she began to walk away with Hugo.

"Charlie?!" Joey called causing Charlie to stop. Hugo sighed and continued to walk. He stopped at the door and stared at them expectantly.

Joey reached out and took Charlie's hand "Please be careful"

"I will" Charlie whispered sadly before she squeezed the younger girls hand and walked despairingly back to her fiancé.

---

"I HATE HIM!" Joey yelled angrily as she flopped down on the bed next to Aden "I fucking HATE him!"

"Whoa!" Aden rolled onto his side to face Joey and instantly grew concerned at her miserable expression "What's going on Joey, who do you hate?"

"Hugo!" Joey answered pounding her fist down on the bed.

"Charlie's fiancé?" Aden responded "Why?" he sat up and gazed intently down at Joey.

"He fucking beat her up!" Joey responded. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down.

Aden's expression hardened immediately "Bastard..."

"You should have seen her Aden" Joey mumbled as tears began to form in her eyes "She had bruises all over her. He hits her all of the time and she still refuses to leave him..."

"Hey" Aden gently pulled Joey into his arms and held onto her tightly "It's okay...I'm sure Charlie will be fine"

"She won't!" Joey countered "She's not going to leave him. He's dangerous Ade!"

Aden pulled back and looked down at Joey in worry "Maybe you should back off a bit from them Jo..." he gently wiped her tears away "If he's dangerous I don't want you to get hurt..."

"NO!" Joey exclaimed instantly "I'm not just going to stay away from her. I need to make sure that bastard doesn't do it again. I'm not going to stop being her friend"

"Fine" Aden sighed and swiped a hand through his sandy blonde hair "But if he hits her again stay away from him Joey. Tell me and I'll...sort him out"

"You're sweet" Joey smiled weakly at him "But I don't want you to get hurt. I'll just have to convince her that she doesn't have to put up with his abuse myself..."

"But be careful" Aden warned softly "You know I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you"

"Thanks Ade" Joey threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek "You're the best friend ever..."

"I know!" Aden grinned when Joey pulled back "It's a full time job you know"

Joey rolled her eyes at him "Right"

"So when are you seeing Charlie again?" he asked slightly more seriously "Maybe it _is_ a good idea that you keep an eye on her"

"Hopefully tomorrow night!" Joey replied brightly.

"How do you..."

"It's a secret" Joey winked.

---

Charlie breathed a sigh of relief when Hugo finally left her alone for five minutes. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper.

_Charlie, _

_Meet me tomorrow night outside the restaraunt around 9:00. I'll be waiting for you. Don't forget what I said...Be careful, _

_Joey_

Charlie smiled to herself as she crumbled the note in her hand. Maybe there was a small light in her darkness after all...

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

Joey hovered nervously at the top of the stairs awaiting Charlie's arrival. She still wasn't show if the older girl would show up or if in fact she would be 'allowed' to show up.

"Joey?" a soft voice from behind her caught her attention and she turned quickly around to see Charlie ascending the stairs towards her.

"Hey!" Joey smiled brightly as she moved forward to meet her "Wow...You look beautiful as always"

"Thanks" Charlie blushed slightly as she glanced down at herself "You look great too" she glanced around self consciously "So...Where are we going?"

"You're coming with me" Joey answered as she grasped Charlie's hand and began to lead her back down the stairs "It's a surprise"

"A surprise?" Charlie echoed "What kind of a surprise?"

"It's a secret" Joey winked as she glanced over at her "You'll find out soon enough"

"Right" Charlie rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips.

"I didn't really expect you to meet me" Joey admitted honestly as they continued to walk "I didn't think that Hugo would let you out or...Whatever"

"Well I am" Charlie responded with a smile "And he doesn't expect me back until late or not at all tonight"

"Really?" Joey frowned as she glanced over at Charlie "Why?" After their discussion Joey had been given the distinct impression that Hugo refused to relinquish his control on Charlie.

"I...Erm think he feels a little bit bad" Charlie responded calmly "Which is unusual but...He went a little bit too far. He knows that"

"Too far?!" Joey stopped and grabbed Charlie's arm gently "What do you mean by that Charlie? Did he hurt you again?"

"Yeah" the older girl nodded truthfully "But it doesn't matter Jo...I knew he wouldn't stop doing it after one stupid argument"

"It's only been two days since he beat the crap out of you though!" Joey exclaimed in disgust "I don't understand what the hell his problem is"

"I'm his problem" Charlie attempted a small smile which did nothing to reassure the younger girl "It's not a big deal Jo"

"What do you mean he went 'too far'?!" Joey questioned suddenly her mind jolting back to Charlie's previous statement "What did he do to you?"

"He's only ever left bruises and slight scratches" Charlie sighed forlornly at the concerned questions "This time...The cut was a little bit deeper. That's all" she tugged at Joey's hand causing her to start walking again.

"But he..."

"Forget about it" Charlie interrupted calmly "Let's just not talk about Hugo tonight, okay Joey? Tonight...I want to forget about him and spend time with _you_"

"Okay" Joey smiled shyly at the comment and squeezed Charlie's hand tighter. She stopped suddenly "Oh...We're here!" she gestured towards the busy looking bar in front of them.

"Hmmn...Looks noisy" Charlie observed thoughtfully "Exactly what I need to take my mind off things" she followed Joey slowly into the bar without releasing her hand.

"Sit" Joey smiled as they approached a small table in the corner "I'll go and get the drinks...What can I get you?"

"You don't have to buy my drinks you know" Charlie pointed out.

"I know that" Joey shrugged "But I want to so...What are you drinking?"

"Umm...Just a gin and tonic than" Charlie smiled gratefully "Thanks Joey"

Joey shot the older girl a grin before she walked toward towards the bar, Charlie's eyes following her closely. She returned to the table after merely a minute and presented Charlie with her drink "Here ya go!"

"Thanks" Charlie smiled as she took the drink and slid over motioning for Joey to drop into the seat next to her. They sat in a mutually comfortable silence for a moment before Joey spoke up.

"So..." Joey said as she twirled her straw thoughtfully around her drink "I realised I've never actually asked you why you're on this ship"

"Hugo's here on business" Charlie answered "And obviously I had to come along with him...Needless to say Ruby wasn't too happy about that arrangement"

"She must miss you" Joey leaned forward slightly to be heard over the music which had picked up again.

"Yeah...I miss her too" Charlie smiled at the thought of her daughter "Plus she hates not being able to 'Keep an eye on me'...Her words not mine"

"You two seem really close" Joey observed as she glanced at her friend.

"We are!" Charlie grinned "She's my pride and joy...Seriously Joey; I know I'm repeating myself but If you met her you'd absolutely love her. You tow would get on like a house on fire"

"You think?" Joey smiled and tilted her head to the side to look into Charlie's eyes.

"Definitely" Charlie nodded certainly "You and Ruby are a lot alike...You're both cheeky as hell for starters!"

Joey grinned cheekily at Charlie "You know you love it"

"I most certainly do" Charlie laughed as she sipped at her drink. She glanced up at the band on stage "Who's the band? They're great!"

"Uh...I don't know" Joey answered blankly "I think they're a new band. Covering other band's songs or something"

"Oh" Charlie nodded as the music from the stage did down slightly. After a moment it started up again and she winced.

"Relevant song" Joey muttered quietly.

"Yeah" Charlie nodded slowly and took a large gulp of her drink "Not really what I want to be hearing right now but..."

**Hey girl, you know you drive me crazy  
One look puts the rhythm in my hand  
Still I'll never understand why you hang around  
I see what's going down**

**Cover up with make-up in the mirror  
Tell yourself it's never gonna happen again  
you cry alone and then he  
Swears he loves you**

"We can leave if you want" Joey offered considerately "We can go somewhere else if you want to..."

"I'm fine" Charlie smiled weakly at her "It's not like I haven't heard this before..."

"If you're sure" Joey watched in concern as Charlie downed her drink quickly.

**Do you feel like a man  
When you push her around?  
Do you feel better now  
As she falls to the ground?  
Well I'll tell you, my friend  
One day, this world's got to end  
As your lies crumble down  
A new life she has found**

A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect  
Every action in this world will bear a consequence  
If you wade around forever you will surely drown  
I see what's going down

I see the way you go and say you're right again  
Say you're right again  
Heed my lecture

"It's fine...Really" Charlie reassured the younger girl who was still gazing at her in pure concern "It's just a song..."

"Right" Joey sat back and sipped at her drink as she listened closely to the incredibly appropriate lyrics.

"You didn't tell anybody about this did you?" Charlie asked suddenly trying to take her mind off the song "This thing with me and Hugo I mean...?"

"Uh...I thought you didn't want to talk about him" Joey said shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"Joey..." Charlie warned quietly at the guilt she heard in Joey's voice "Tell me you didn't..."

"I did!" Joey turned slightly to face Charlie and gazed at her guiltily "I'm sorry but...I only told Aden and he's not going to tell anyone about this. I promise...I'm sorry Charlie. I didn't mean to tell anybody...You told me that in confidence and..."

"It's okay!" Charlie held up a hand and stopped Joey from talking "Really Joey...It's not that big of a deal. If you're sure you can trust him"

"I can" Joey nodded confidently "He's..."

"Hey" a male voice sounded from next to their table causing Charlie to jump slightly.

"Aden!" Joey jumped up and launched herself into Aden's arms "What are you doing here?!"

"I was just having a drink" Aden smiled as he returned the tight embrace before pulling away "I saw you both sitting over here...Figured I'd come by and say Hi" he turned to Charlie as Joey sat down and held out his hand slowly trying not to freak her out "I'm Aden By the way. Aden Jeffries"

"Charlie Buckton" Charlie smiled as she took his hand and shook it "It's nice to meet you Aden"

"It's nice to finally meet you too" Aden grinned at her "Joey talks about you non-stop". He laughed when Joey blushed brightly where she sat next to Charlie before he glanced at their empty glasses "I'm going to get drinks...Anything you two want?"

"Surprise us" Joey answered as she shifted slightly closer to Charlie.

"Right" Aden nodded and walked off towards the bar.

"He seems really nice" Charlie commented in a quieter voice due to the fact that the music had turned to a soft song.

"He is!" Joey nodded with a smile "He's like a brother to me. He's great"

"Hmmn" Charlie hummed in response as she watched Aden return to their table with three glasses in his hands.

"What's this?" Joey asked curiously as her handed both her and Charlie a glass each.

"This ladies is called a kick in the doolies" He answered as he took a seat on Charlie's other side "It's vodka mixed with Doolies"

"I'm not sure if I should drink this" Charlie said as she gazed closely at the dark liquid "I'm not very good with alcohol"

"It's not as bad as it sounds" Aden reassured her with a smile.

"Okay..." Charlie grinned and glanced at Joey who was gazing apprehensively at her own drink "Ready?"

"1..." Joey counted as she raised the drink to her lips.

"2..." Charlie continued slowly.

"3!" with that they both took a long drink from their glasses. They both instantly began to cough much to Aden's amusement.

"That's...Strong" Joey stated as he reached over and patted Charlie's back lightly wary of her bruises.

"It tastes nice though!" Charlie grinned as she sat up and took another sip from her drink "Thanks Aden"

"No problem!" Aden smiled happily.

---

"Hey Joey!" Charlie leaned close to Joey to be heard over the loud music "Dance with me!"

"What?" Joey laughed at the slightly intoxicated Charlie "I can't dance"

"Neither can I!" Charlie countered with a smile "But I love this song...Come on, please?" she gazed at the younger girl with a puppy dog look until she caved.

"Okay" Joey conceded with a smile "Come on than" she glanced at Aden who was grinning at them and he motioned for them to go. She stood up slowly and pulled Charlie up with her, leading her to the dance floor.

---

"I had a really...Hic...Good time..Hic...Tonight Joey" Charlie hiccupped as she stumbled into Joey's cabin with the younger girl.

"You're adorable when you're drunk" Joey smiled as she quickly hit the light switch on the wall. Aden had walked them safely to their door after they had left the door before bidding them goodnight and leaving.

"I'm not drunk!"Charlie smiled as she dropped onto Joey's bed pulling the other girl with her. She continued at Joey's incredulous look "I'm just a little bit tipsy"

"Okay I believe you" Joey laughed as she watched Charlie kick her shoes off and lie back on the bed. She managed to shrug her own jacket and shoes off before she found herself pulled down onto the bed next to Charlie.

"Thanks for this Joey" Charlie spoke quietly "For taking my mind of Hugo. For caring so much...Nobody's really done that before"

Joey rolled onto her side to look down at the other girl "its okay..."

"You probably think I'm an idiot for staying with him" Charlie said quietly "I know that you do..."

"I don't think you're an idiot" Joey said as she gently moved a strand of hair from Charlie's cheek "I think that you're confused and he's messed with your head but...No I don't think you're an idiot. Not at all"

Charlie reached up and tangled her fingers with Joey's "Thanks Joey"

"Can I ask you something?" Joey asked softly breaking the silence that had settled between them.

"Go ahead" Charlie nodded slowly.

"How bad is it? With Hugo? I need you to tell me the truth Charlie..."

"It's bad" Charlie whispered "Really bad. He's gotten so out of control. I can't even remember a time when he didn't hit me now. It's always been like this he hit's me, Bullies me and...Does whatever the hell he wants to do with me. But...I can't leave him Joey. He's doing all of this because I make him do it. I deserve everything I get..."

"No you don't" Joey said quietly "You know that's him talking Charlie. He's making you think that you deserve it but you don't. As a cop you wouldn't accept that from victims of this type of stuff Charlie. You know that..."

"I know" Charlie nodded tearfully "But I honestly don't think I'm worth the trouble Joey. I'm not worth it..."

"You are worth it..." Joey argued in a hushed voice as she leaned even closer and wiped Charlie's tears away gently "You're amazing Charlie...You're funny, you're strong, you're...You're beautiful"

Charlie remained silent and lifted a hand to Joey's cheek "I'm sorry I've gotten you involved in all of this"

"It's okay" Joey whispered "It's not your fault...I just want you to know that you don't deserve what he's doing to you Charlie. You deserve so much better than him..."

Charlie shrugged helplessly "Maybe..." she looked up into Joey's eyes and found herself caught in the care and tenderness she found there.

"Charlie..." Joey whispered as she began to lean down.

"Joey..." Charlie sighed softly as she felt Joey's breath on her lips. She leaned up slightly just as Joey leaned down and their lips met in a soft kiss. Her hand's quickly found their way to the back of Joey's head and she pulled her further into the kiss. All thoughts flew from her mind as Joey's lips moved slowly against her own.

A sudden bleeping noise caused them to pull away.

"Oh God..." Charlie jumped off the bed as her phone vibrated in her pocket "What am I...? I have to go!" she grabbed her shoes off the floor and rushed out of the door ignoring Joey's calls for her to wait.

"Damn It!" Joey slumped backwards onto the bed and raised a hand to her still tingling lips.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks so much for all of your reviews guys. They really mean a lot to me and help a lot with the fic. Hope y'all enjoy this chapter. **

Chapter 6 

"Charlie?" Joey called as the older girl walked past her. She sighed when there was no response and Charlie kept on walking "Charlie!" she jogged quickly up behind her and grabbed her arm "Charlie, Wait a minute..."

Charlie winced and pulled her arm from Joey's loose grip as she swung around to face her "What do you want Joey?"

"Um..." Joey hesitated at the dark bruise she noticed on Charlie's cheek "You haven't talked to me for a couple of days...I was worried about you"

"You don't need to be" Charlie muttered before she began to walk away again.

"Apparently I do!" Joey once again grabbed Charlie's arm before pushing her sleeve gently up her arm to reveal a number of small cuts and bruises. She looked up at her sadly "What is he doing to you Charlie?"

"What needs to be done" Charlie pulled her arm quickly from Joey's grip "I've told you already Joey...I deserve all of this"

"_That"_ Joey said firmly "Is a sign of abuse. He's making you feel like you're responsible for everything he does but you're not...You're not to blame in this!"

"I'm not an easy person to be with" Charlie said quietly as she glanced nervously around the deck "I could drive a person to..."

"To hit you?!" Joey interrupted incredulously "That is never right in any situation. You know that Charlie...c'mon" when Charlie returned her gaze blankly Joey exhaled deeply "Okay...Hypothetical Situation...Ruby is dating a guy. He gets mad at her and punches her in the face...What would you do?"

"That isn't the same thing" Charlie protested weakly "It's a totally different situation"

"You would go mental!" Joey exclaimed "I know that you would do anything to protect your daughter so...What makes you think this situation is any different?"

"It just is!"

"Why?!" Joey's frustration was obviously growing causing people passing to look their way.

"Because I deserve it!" Charlie stepped forward slightly "I deserve all of this. He only hits me because I'm so hard to be around"

"It's not hard for me to be around you" Joey pointed out quietly.

"Yeah..." Charlie frowned and dropped her gaze to the ground.

"You deserve not to be beaten up Charlie." Joey said softly "You deserve somebody who cares about you...Somebody who _loves _you. What you have with Hugo is not LOVE. It's control. It's abuse. You deserve so much better..."

"Like you?" Charlie remarked as she looked back up at Joey.

"Charlie..." Hurt adorned Joey's features for a moment and she seemed to be at a loss for words "I'm not going to lie and say that I don't care about you because I do. Am I attracted to you? Hell yes. How could I not be?"

"Joey..."

"Let me finish" Joey continued slowly "If being with you was a possibility and you reciprocated my feelings I would jump at the chance. But...My main priority is to make sure that you don't get hurt. And while you're still with 'Him' you're going to get hurt Charlie. You know that"

"I can't leave him..." Charlie said weakly.

"Do you love him?" Joey asked bluntly.

"That...That doesn't matter Joey!" Charlie responded.

"It's _all_ that matters" Joey countered "If you don't love him and he treats you like this how can you still be with him?" she moved her hand slowly to touch the dark bruise on Charlie's cheek.

Charlie sighed and leaned into the soft touch for a moment before she forced herself to pull away "I can't do this...I have to stay away from you Joey. It's for the best"

"Why?!" Joey questioned desperately "Because we kissed? Is that why you've been avoiding me?"

"I can't do this!" Charlie repeated shakily "I can't be around you when I feel more for you than I've _ever_ felt for him Joey..."

"You...Really?" Joey felt a smile form on her lips.

"Yes!" Charlie sighed "I can't stop thinking about you and the kiss..." she trailed off for a moment before shaking her head to focus herself "I can't do this...I have a fiancé for Christ-sakes and all I can think about is being with you and kissing you again!"

"So break up with him" Joey offered softly as she reached out to take Charlie's hand in her own "You should never be treat like that by anybody..."

"No..." Charlie shook her head "I'm sorry Joey. I think we should just stay away from each other from now on okay?"

"Charlie c'mon..." Joey watched sadly as Charlie stepped away, their hand still joined.

"I'm sorry" Charlie whispered before she dropped Joey's hand and rushed away quickly, leaving the younger girl gazing tearfully after her.

---

"Hey" Aden smiled and turned towards his door as Joey entered the room. He found himself confused and concerned when Joey said nothing and merely rushed into his arms "Hey what's wrong Jo? Has something happened to Charlie?" nevertheless he raised his arms and wrapped them tightly around her.

"She likes me" Joey sniffled against his chest "Like _really_ likes me. As more than a friend"

"And this is a bad thing?" Aden echoed in confusion "I thought that you like her too"

"She says she can't be with me" Joey said miserably as she pulled away from the man and slumped down onto his bed "It really says something that she prefers to be with a guy who beats her up daily than me don't you think?"

"No" Aden sat down next to her on the bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders "Don't be ridiculous Jo...I'm sure it's not like that at all"

"She had another bruise on her face today" Joey murmured quietly as she leaned into Aden's arm "I don't understand why she thinks that she deserves all of this crap from him"

"I don't know" Aden responded despondently "Only she can tell you that"

"He's going to end up hurting her really badly Aden" Joey said seriously as she turned to face him "And I don't know what I can do to help her when she won't let me"

"She might come to her senses eventually" Aden offered helpfully "She might realise that she doesn't deserve what he does to her"

"Before he hurts her seriously?" Joey sighed miserably.

"I don't know" Aden said sadly "I really don't know Joey"

---

"I saw you talking to that girl again today" Hugo said in a low voice as he circled Charlie slowly "Joey, is it?"

"Yeah" Charlie swallowed nervously.

"You two seem very friendly" Hugo continued as he came to a stop in front of her "Is there something you want to tell me, Charlie?" he raised a hand to the bruise on her cheek and grinned when she flinched "Funny...You didn't do that when Joey touched you"

"Do you blame me?" Charlie asked quietly as she took a step back.

Hugo's expression darkened instantly but he still managed to smirk at her "Somebody's feeling brave tonight" he moved forward and caught her arm in a tight grip causing her to wince audibly "Does Joey know about this Charlie?" he squeezed her arm for emphasis.

"No..." Charlie attempted to tug free of Hugo's grip but to no avail "Let go of me Hugo!"

"I don't believe you!" Hugo exclaimed angrily as he pushed her forcefully backwards causing her to stumble slightly "I told you that nobody was supposed to find out about this...I FUCKING TOLD YOU CHARLIE!"

"I know" Charlie whimpered softly as he advanced on her "I'm sorry Hugo..."

"You're sorry?!" Hugo scoffed "Well sorry isn't good enough anymore! You're always doing things like this...Going out of your way to disobey me. It's like you can't do ANYTHING fucking right!"

Charlie watched silently as he approached her.

"Well?!" he questioned "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?!"

When Charlie remained silent Hugo grew even more furious "You know that I'm going to have to make sure that she won't tell anyone now, don't you?"

"Don't you dare touch her!" Charlie surprised both Hugo and herself at the power in her statement.

"It's your fault" Hugo growled as he grabbed her arm once again and pulled her back towards him "Everything is your fault Charlie. You can't do anything right! You can't even do something as simple as keeping a secret for God sake!"

"I shouldn't have to" Charlie winced as his grip strengthened "You shouldn't be doing this to me"

"Well who else would put up with you?!" Hugo asked spitefully "Nobody else would _love_ you Charlie. You know that. You're a waste of fucking space" he pushed her away from him and backhanded her sending her crashing to the floor "And unfortunately I'm the one who has to put up with you and teach you a lesson!" he clenched his fists and advanced on her menacingly.

---

The first thing Charlie was aware of when she came to was the pain. Sharp and intense from everywhere in her body. She groaned quietly and sat up hoping Hugo had gone out. It wasn't the first time Hugo had beaten her to the point of her passing out but it didn't get any better. She whimpered slightly as she pushed herself to her feet. As she heard water running in the bathroom she panicked and rushed towards the door to escape another run in with Hugo. The pain was blinding as she rushed up to the deck where she finally collapsed to the ground in sobs. She looked down at her own bloody clothing and shook her head miserably "Worthless..." she staggered painfully to her feet and leaned heavily against the railings to keep herself up.

"Ow..." she winced as she raised a hand to her shoulder which was stinging profusely . A soft sob escaped her as she pulled her hand back "There's no way out..." she looked down at the deep blue of the sea beneath the Ship as tears rolled down her cheek "I'm not worth it..." she looked around quickly before clambering over the railing onto the other side. She looked down still holding onto the rail with her hands.

"Just let go..." she tried to coax herself to no avail as she didn't release her grip "Just one small step..."

"Charlie!" a panicked voice sounded causing Charlie to jump and almost slip. She managed to hang on however. She looked over her shoulder to see Joey hovering nervously behind her.

"What are you doing over there?" Joey asked nervously as she took a step forward.

"Stop!" Charlie ordered causing Joey to stop short "Just leave me alone Joey"

"Are you planning on jumping?" Joey asked quietly "Because I really don't think that's a good idea Charlie..."

"Seems like my best escape route" Charlie said as she turned to face the sea beneath her "I just have to let go of this railing..." she loosened her grip slightly causing Joey's throat to constrict in fear.

"Wait!" Joey exclaimed in panic "Don't...Don't let go Charlie. You don't have to do this..."

"I do!" Charlie responded tearfully "I don't have anyone anyway Joey"

"What about Ruby?" Joey asked desperately as she moved forward "Your daughter? What would she do without you?!"

"I don't know..." Charlie shrugged sadly though she tightened her grip again on the railing at thought of her daughter.

"If you jump I'm going to have to jump right in after you, you know" Joey said as she placed a hand on the railing "And the water is freezing so..."

Charlie sniffled slightly and glanced at Joey "I can't do this anymore Joey"

"I'll help you" Joey soothed softly "Just take my hand Charlie..." she held out her hand to Charlie.

Charlie hesitated for a moment before she reached out to take Joey's hand. To do this however she had to take one hand off the railing and she ended up losing her footing. Joey grabbed quickly at Charlie's hands as she slipped off the railing.

"Joey!" Charlie yelled in panic "Don't let go!"

"I'm Not!" Joey said through clenched teeth as she reached down and grabbed onto the girl with her other hand "I'm not letting go...Just push yourself up Charlie!"

"I can't!" Charlie whimpered as she clutched onto Joey as tightly as she could.

"You CAN" Joey stated firmly as she tightened her hold though she felt her arms growing weaker "You have to"

Charlie scrambled to push herself up the side of the boat with Joey's help.

"Come on" Joey growled as she pulled back with all of her strength using her foot on the railing as leverage. After a moment she managed to pull Charlie up and over the railing. The force of the tug unbalanced her and she fell to the ground, Charlie landing on top of her. They both lay in silence for a moment breathing heavily until Charlie spoke up quietly.

"Thanks Joey"

"It's okay" Joey whispered mentally noting that Charlie hadn't attempted to move from their accidental position. She lifted a hand slowly to Charlie's cheek "He hurt you again"

"Yeah" Charlie said softly "I kind of blacked out this time"

Joey sighed as she quickly scanned the rest of Charlie's body noticing the blood on her clothes "I hate that he can hurt you..."

"I was arguing with him" Charlie replied quietly "He found out that I told you about him hitting me. He said that I deserve it. That I'm worthless and I'm only useful for a good lay"

"He's wrong Charlie!" Joey responded sadly "I don't know why you can't see that and leave him..."

"But if you're right..." Charlie sniffled quietly "And Hugo doesn't love me...Maybe he was right all along. Maybe I'm just not lovable"

"Would you stop and listen to yourself?!" Joey reached up and held Charlie's face in her hands gently "Look at what he's making you think about yourself Charlie. He's not right. Not at all" she felt her eyes mist with tears but continued emotionally "You are extremely beautifully lovable..."

"Maybe I'm not good enough for anyone to fall in love with than..."

"No" Joey shook her head slowly "I didn't see it before because this has never happened to me before now but...I'm falling for you Charlie. I'm falling hard and fast"

"I think..." Charlie sniffled quietly "I think I'm falling for you too"

"Really?" Joey asked allowing a smile to light up her features before she remembered something and it faded "But you're going back to him"

"No..." Charlie responded shakily "I'm not but...you'll help me won't you Jo? I can't do this without you"

"Of course I will" Joey nodded instantly "But where do _we_ stand Charlie?"

"I want to be with you" Charlie spoke shyly "But I'm not sure if you know what you're getting into. Anyway after the way I treated you this morning I'm surprised you still want to be with me"

"Of course I still want to be with you" Joey argued "This morning wasn't your fault..."

"Can I..." Charlie swallowed nervously and blushed before continuing "Can I kiss you again?"

"You don't have to ask" Joey leaned up slightly but allowed Charlie room to make the deciding move. Charlie exhaled slowly and looked deep into Joey's eyes before she closed the distance between her lips and Joey's allowing them to meet in a sweet kiss. She enjoyed the feeling of their lips moving together for a moment before she leaned forward adding slightly more pressure to the kiss. She smiled internally as Joey responded slowly and wrapped her arms around her.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys thanks again for all of your reviews. I love hearing what you all think! Sorry this Chapter is so short and kind of a filler but ...I'll try to get back to the drama really soon! Speaking of which...Hands up. Who wants the steamed up car scene? Lol. **

**All spelling and grammar mistakes are my own....**

Chapter 7

Charlie stirred slowly from her unusually peaceful sleep and found herself immediately aware of a warm presence pressed into her back. An arm, most definitely not belonging to Hugo was wrapped lightly around her waist. After a moment Charlie became aware of a soft exhalation on the back of her neck.

_Joey..._ Charlie realised with a slight smile as she remembered last night.

"_We should probably move" Joey panted when they finally resurfaced for air "If we stay here we could get caught"_

"_Okay..." Charlie winced as she attempted to push herself up from on top of Joey "This might take a while though"_

"_Its okay" Joey placed her hands on Charlie's arms to keep her from moving and shuffled out from beneath her. When she was finally on her feet she reached down and helped the other girl slowly off the ground. _

"_Ow" Charlie whimpered and leaned heavily on Joey, taking her weight off her foot "That Hurts...I don't know if I'm going to be able to get to your room Jo"_

"_Hmmn..." Joey looked around thoughtfully before turning her gaze back to Charlie "Don't worry, I'll get us back" she eased out slowly from underneath Charlie's arm but made sure she still had a grip on her "Are you okay to stand by yourself for a second?"_

"_I think so" Charlie frowned in confusion when Joey let go of her and she wobbled slightly on one foot "But..."_

"_Hop on" Joey instructed as she turned around so her back was turned towards Charlie. _

"_What?!" Charlie asked in alarm "You can't carry me all the way back to your room Jo. I'm too heavy!"_

"_I held onto you over the side of the boat, didn't I?" Joey said in response "I'm stronger than I look and this is the only way we're going to get back so...Hop on"_

"_Okay" Charlie hesitantly hobbled forward and braced herself with her hands on the younger girl's shoulders "Are you ready?"_

"_Yep" Joey nodded certainly. _

"_Okay..." Charlie replied slowly "1...2...3!" she jumped slightly into the air and Joey caught her and held her securely. The older girl wrapped her arms lightly around Joey's neck "Are you sure you can do this?"_

"_Absolutely positive" Joey answered brightly "So where to now M'Lady?" _

"_I'd say to your bedroom Jeeves" Charlie giggled as Joey began to walk slowly across the deck. _

"_Right away" Joey grinned as she tightened her hold . _

"_Why are you walking so slowly?" Charlie questioned suddenly "Am I too heavy because..."_

"_You're not too heavy" Joey answered rolling her eyes "I just don't want to hurt you by moving too fast. That's all"_

"_Oh..." Charlie nodded before falling silent. _

_Joey frowned at the sudden silence between them but still she continued walking towards her cabin. She finally reached it and removing one hand from Charlie pushed the door open. She walked over to the bed and allowed Charlie to drop gently from her back onto one foot. _

"_Thanks Joey" Charlie said softly as she sat onto the bed behind her. _

"_Is something wrong?" Joey frowned as she noticed the sad look on the other girls face. She sat down next to her and took her hand gently "Charlie?"_

"_Nothing's wrong really" Charlie said as her gaze dropped to their linked hands "I'm just kind of amazed that you care so much for me. Hugo never really cared. It seemed like I wasn't worth it"_

"_And I'm going to show you that you are" Joey interrupted her with a light hand squeeze and a soft smile "Because you are worth it Charlie..."_

_Charlie looked up and returned the smile "Maybe" when Joey moved to get up she held tightly onto her hand "Joey?"_

"_What is it?" Joey sat back down on the bed and gazed at Charlie in concern. _

"_Can we maybe just stay like this for a while?" Charlie requested shyly "I just don't want to move right now" _

"_Of course" Joey nodded sincerely "Anything you want" she shifted closer and wrapped her free arm around Charlie's waist. _

"_I feel safe with you" Charlie admitted in a whisper "Safer than I've ever felt before..." she leaned her head against Joey's and sighed contentedly. _

"_Good" Joey replied quietly "Because I don't want you to ever feel like you're not safe with me"_

Charlie turned around in Joey's embrace and found herself staring into large chocolate eyes.

"Morning" Joey greeted her with a bright smile "Or should I say afternoon"

"Hmmmn" Charlie snuggled even further into the other girl's embrace "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I figured you needed to sleep after everything that happened last night" Joey answered "It must have tired you out"

"Yeah..." Charlie nodded slowly "I guess being beaten up and attempting suicide really takes it out of you..."

"Charlie..." Joey pulled back slowly to look into the older girl's eyes "About last night..."

"I don't regret it" Charlie said instantly "Well I regret trying to jump but...I don't regret telling you how I feel about you. Or acting on my feeling's"

"That's good" Joey smiled at her "I was kind of worried about it"

"You don't need to be" Charlie leaned forward and kissed Joey softly "I want to be with you Joey. I've never felt like this before and...I don't want to let it go"

"Neither do I" Joey agreed quickly.

"But...I don't want you to get hurt because of me" Charlie continued "Hugo isn't just going to let me go you know...He won't let anything get in the way of getting me back"

"Don't worry about me" Joey reassured her with a smile "I'll be fine and we have Aden if anything happens anyway"

"But I don't want either of you to get hurt" Charlie stressed again.

"We'll be fine" Joey leaned forward and kissed the other girl again "I promise"

"He's going to be pissed that I left last night..." Charlie said thoughtfully.

"Don't worry about him" Joey replied as she ran her hand up and down the other girl's back in a comforting gesture "He can't hurt you anymore. I won't let him"

Charlie found herself again caught off guard by the care in Joey's eyes and she leaned forward to kiss her slowly.

"Hey" a male voice sounded as the door to the room was pushed open "What ar...Whoa!"

Joey and Charlie pulled away from the kiss and looked up to see Aden standing in the doorway, his hands firmly over his eyes.

"Aden..." Joey started as she sat up slightly.

"I'm sorry!" Aden said apologetically without moving his hands "I didn't know...I mean..."

"It's okay" Joey reassured him as she risked a glance at Charlie to see if she was at all freaked out. To her surprise the older girl merely seemed amused at Aden's flustered state "You can uncover your eyes...and close the door"

"Right" Aden kicked the door shut behind him and lowered his hand from his eyes which still remained closed.

"And open your eyes you goofball!" Joey rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh" Aden grinned and lowered his hand "Hey Charlie" he offered her a small wave "Sorry I walked in on you. I have the worst timing ever"

"Hey" Charlie smiled back at him "Don't worry about it. It's no problem. Really"

"Okay" Aden nodded and hovered unsurely for a moment.

"You can sit down you know" Charlie said as she noticed his hesitation "I'm not going to have a major breakdown"

"I didn't...I mean" Aden blushed slightly and moved forward to sit on the bed "I just didn't want to freak you out...With everything that's been happening"

"That's sweet of you" Charlie smiled at him "But I'm fine. Really"

Joey smiled happily at the interaction between her friend and...Girlfriend?

"I left Hugo" Charlie said suddenly her gaze still focused on Aden "I just thought that you should know that..."

"Good" Aden smiled at her "He's a prick and you deserve better than him" he looked between Joey and Charlie "So does this mean that you two are...?"

"Yeah" Joey and Charlie replied in unison as they glanced at each other.

"That's good" Aden nodded slowly "Just let me know if I can do anything to help with Hugo"

"I don't want to cause any trouble for either of you" Charlie said as she looked back towards him and squeezed Joey's hand tighter "Maybe you should stay away from him?"

"I'll try" Aden frowned, not really happy about letting him get away with it.

---

"CHARLIE!"

Charlie stopped short when she heard Hugo's cold voice yell her name furiously. She swallowed heavily and squeezed Joey's hand tighter as she turned around. She noticed Aden tense on her other side and felt immediately comforted by his presence.

"Why didn't you come home last night?!" Hugo stormed over to her, not even seeming to notice Joey and Aden through his angry haze "I didn't give you permission to leave"

"That's because she doesn't need it" Joey replied as she noticed Charlie's inability to answer.

"This has nothing to do with you!" Hugo snapped at Joey "You're coming back with me right now Charlie! And you'll be goddamn sorry when you get back"

Aden shifted slightly next to Charlie trying to stop himself from lashing out.

"I'm not coming with you" Charlie spoke bravely "I don't want to be with you anymore Hugo...It's over"

"What?!" Hugo asked as he looked down at Joey and Charlie's joined hands "You're with her now than?"

"Yes!" Charlie nodded surely surprising Joey slightly "I am"

"And how long will she put up with you?!" Hugo asked in a low angry voice "You're not worth the trouble Charlie. She'll get sick of you eventually" he grabbed her arm in a vice like grip "Now you're coming with me!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!" Hugo Yelled as he raised his fist.

"Like hell she is!" Aden shoved the other man roughly causing him to stumble backwards "Just leave her alone!"

Hugo stepped forward again and smirked at Aden "I won't leave her alone...And there's nothing you can do about it" he glanced at Charlie "I'll get you sooner or later. Add to those bruises you cau..." he was cut off as Aden released a low growl and rushed at him tackling him to the deck.

"ADEN!" Joey yelled as she watched her friend punch Hugo across the face.

"ADEN STOP IT!" Charlie said in alarm when Aden didn't respond or get up off Hugo and instead continued the furious attack "He's not worth it...Come on" she moved forward and grabbed his arm, tugging him up.

"You'd better leave her alone" Aden panted as he looked down at Hugo who was visibly shaken "You're a pathetic bully...Hitting your fiancé because you can't pick on somebody your own size?!"

"I can have you arrested" Hugo said shakily as he stood up and wiped blood from his face "That was assault!"

"What do you call what you did to Charlie?" Joey exclaimed as she took Charlie's hand in her own again "That was more than assault you prick!"

"I can have you arrested" Hugo repeated his gaze still locked onto Aden "There is a cop here you know..."

"I didn't see anything" Charlie said instantly "Did you Joey?" she glanced at Joey and offered her a small smile.

"Nope. Nothing" Joey shook her head.

Hugo gazed speechlessly at Charlie's sudden bravery.

"Now" Aden said as he stepped forward "You'd better leave her alone...Unless of course you want everyone to find out what a violent chauvinistic pig you really are"

"Whatever" Hugo muttered forlornly as he turned to walk away "Not like she's worth it anyway"

Aden watched until Hugo had disappeared before turning back to Joey and Charlie "Sorry...About the violence. I just really hate the way he treats you"

"It's okay" Charlie smiled at him "Thanks for standing up for me..." she turned towards Joey "Both of you. It really means a lot to know that I have both of you on my side"

"Anytime" Aden responded as he moved back to her side "Now how about we go and get some food? I'm starved!"

"You're always hungry" Joey laughed at him as they began to walk away.

"Am not"

Charlie grinned at Aden's quick subject change as they began to walk towards the restaurant.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks so much for all the reviews guys. I really appreciate them all :) As promised I included 'the scene' (Though not in a car lol). Sorry if it's not very good...I'm still a beginner with them lol. Oh and thanks for making me Laugh Carrie. I found your retelling of the 'Never let go scene hilarious! (Especially – Rose: Oh a ship *Lets go*) lol. I always found that scene to be a bit confusing myself haha. But rest assured there will be no sad endings. **

Chapter 8

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Joey asked slowly as she gazed out at the blue waves below them "You don't have to do it right now you know. We could work something out" she turned her gaze to Charlie next to her.

"I have to go and get my stuff sometime" Charlie shrugged "And if that means I have to face him I suppose that's what I'll have to do"

"Aden could go for you" Joey pointed out hopefully "You know he wouldn't mind doing it"

"That's not the point" Charlie said as she took Joey's hand gently in her own "I have to do this. I have to actually face him to show him that he doesn't have physical power over me anymore"

"But he has mental power?" Joey tilted her head in contemplation of Charlie's wording.

"What?"

"You said physical" Joey explained slowly "So does that mean he has other control over you besides physical?"

"No...Well yes" Charlie sighed forlornly "He has some degree of mental control over me..."

"I don't think you should be doing this..." Joey bit her lip in worry.

"I'll be fine!" Charlie exclaimed optimistically "Anyway I'll have you right there with me won't I?"

"Yeah" Joey nodded certainly "Of course you will...It's not like I'm going to leave you alone with him"

Charlie offered her a grateful smile and squeezed her hand gently "Thanks Jo"

"It's no problem" Joey smiled back at her "So should we go...?"

"Yeah" Charlie nodded apprehensively "We should probably just get this over with" they began to walk slowly along the deck towards the double doors.

"Hey!" a voice called just as they entered "Wait up!" Joey and Charlie turned around just as Aden walked through the door after them.

"Aden" they said in unison.

"Hey" Aden grinned and shoved his hands into his pockets "I was just wondering if you two wanted to go for a drink. I was just heading to the bar and I figured you'd be around here somewhere"

"Uh..." Charlie glanced at Joey awkwardly "Sorry Ade...We're a little bit busy. I have to go and get my stuff from Hugo's room"

"What?!" Aden's brow furrowed in concern "You aren't going there alone are you? You have no idea how he's going to react. What if he hurts you again?"

"I'm going with her" Joey offered from Charlie's side.

"Right" Aden looked over at Joey sceptically "No offence Joey...I know you can look after yourself and all that but...What if he loses it again? What if he hurts either of you?" Aden shook his head "No...I'm coming with you"

"I don't want to interrupt whatever you're doing" Charlie spoke quietly "And I don't want you to feel like you have to do this..."

"I know I don't" Aden smiled "I'm doing this because I consider you to be my friend. And I look out for my friends so...There!"

"Thanks Aden" Charlie smiled softly "But will you promise me that you won't hit him again? He really isn't worth it and...You'll get yourself into trouble"

"Okay I promise I'll try not to hit him"

"Aden!"

"Fine!" Aden laughed "I won't hit him, okay? If he keeps his hands to himself that is"

"That's the best you're going to get" Joey pointed out with a grin

"It looks like I'm going to have to settle for that than" Charlie rolled her eyes as they continued to walk with Aden at their side. She swallowed nervously as they approached the room "I really hope he's not in there...He isn't going to be at all happy about this"

"He wouldn't try anything" Aden reassured her gently as they came to a stop outside of the door "Anyway if he does he has me to answer to. You'll be fine"

Charlie smiled at him and glanced at Joey before she tentatively raised her hand and knocked on the door.

After a moment the door was flung open and Hugo appeared. He grinned when he spotted Charlie but it instantly fell from his face when he notice Joey and Aden next to her "Oh...What do you want Charlie? Finally decided to come back to me?"

"No" Charlie answered in a steady tone "I've come back for my things"

Hugo sighed heavily and stepped away from the door allowing them entrance "Go for it"

They entered slowly and watched as he moved to sit on the bed.

"I don't know why you're bothering though" Hugo grinned smugly "You know you're only going to end up running back to me eventually. You always do Charlie"

"I won't" Charlie stated firmly.

"But you will!" Hugo argued "Nobody else would put up with your crap like I do, though I don't know why I bloody bother! I've told you once and I'll tell you again. The only thing you're good for is a good lay!" he noticed Aden step forward slightly out of the corner of his eye and glanced at him nervously.

"I think you should shut up!" Joey glared at him.

"Why?!" Hugo laughed "It's true. You'll soon find that out and you'll end up leaving her. She's no good!"

Aden subconsciously clenched his fists at his sides.

"Aden..." Charlie placed her free hand on his arm when she noticed.

Aden released the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and looked at her "Sorry"

Hugo rolled her eyes at them "Well are you going to get your stuff or not?"

"Yeah" Charlie glanced unsurely at Joey and Aden.

"I'll stay here" Aden offered his gaze lingering on Hugo "I'll wait for you"

Joey and Charlie nodded and walked out of the room hand in hand.

"So what are you?" Hugo smirked as he leaned forward and braced his head on his open hand "Their Bodyguard?"

"I'm their friend" Aden said calmly "And I'm not going to let a bully like you hurt them"

"Bully...Right" Hugo laughed "That's probably what she's told you about me isn't it? That I'm a bully and I hit her for no reason"

"There's never a reason" Aden replied stonily "No matter what the situation"

"I have to keep her under control!" Hugo exclaimed "She's my girlfriend and I have the right to do whatever the hell I want"

"She's not your girlfriend anymore" Aden said crossing his arms over his chest as he glared furiously at Hugo "And you have no right whatsoever. You know the only reason I'm not hitting you right now is because Charlie asked me not to"

Hugo raised an eyebrow at him "Why would she do that?"

"Because she's not a heartless bastard like you" Aden explained "You know what I don't understand?"

"What?!"

"I don't understand how you could hurt somebody you're supposed to care about" Aden shook his head thoughtfully "Maybe it's just you..."

"Whatever" Hugo muttered as he looked away. The two men stayed in stony silence for a while before Joey and Charlie finally walked back into the room carrying a bag each. Aden immediately walked over to them and took the bags while Hugo just stared silently from the bed. Charlie hesitantly pulled her hand from Joey's and walked over to the bed where she dropped the keys. She stepped back quickly and Joey took her hand comfortingly.

"Charlie?" Hugo asked just as they were leaving. When Charlie stopped and looked back at him silently he continued coldly "Don't forget what I said to you. You know that it's true"

Without another word Joey, Charlie and Aden left the room.

---

"I'm glad that's over!" Charlie exclaimed with a sigh as she slumped back onto Joey's bed.

"Maybe he'll stay away from you now that he knows you're serious about this" Joey offered as she lay on the bed next to Charlie.

"I hope so" Charlie replied quietly as she shuffled slightly closer to the other girl. She smiled contentedly when Joey wrapped an arm gently round her waist.

"I was thinking..." Joey said cautiously as she ran her fingers lightly through Charlie's dark hair, marvelling at the softness under her fingers.

"Uh-oh" Charlie smiled nervously "What about?"

"The ship decks in a couple of days" Joey reminded her gently "You know...Back where we started. What are we going to do than?"

"What do mean?" Charlie asked in confusion "I thought that you wanted to be with me"

"I do!" Joey exclaimed instantly "It's just that it's going to be a whole lot different than it is now...Isn't it?"

"It doesn't have to be" Charlie replied before she leaned forward and kissed Joey softly "We can still be together. Nothing has to change, right?"

"You're right" Joey nodded slowly "So Miss Buckton...When we get off this ship will you go out with me sometime?"

"I'd love to!" Charlie grinned happily.

"Good!" Joey leaned forward and kissed her gently.

"And..." Charlie said when they pulled away "You can meet Ruby! You'll love her trust me"

"What if she doesn't like me?" Joey asked as she bit her lip nervously.

"You two have way too much in common for her not to like you" Charlie laughed "Plus you have a head start on that already!"

"How?" Joey smiled curiously.

"You helped me to get way from Hugo!" Charlie stated obviously "She's been trying to get me to break up with him for ages. She really doesn't like him"

"Smart kid" Joey nodded in improvement.

"See?" Charlie spoke softly "It'll be fine"

"I guess you're right" Joey leaned up on her arm to grin down at Charlie "Anyway...If she's anything like you she has to be something"

"I don't know about that..." Charlie shrugged and blushed.

"It's true" Joey whispered as she leaned down slightly "And you look totally adorable when you blush by the way" she placed a soft kiss to Charlie's lips. She was about to pull back when Charlie's hand moved to the back of her neck and the kiss was deepened slightly. She sighed softly and leaned down even more as her hands moved to Charlie's cheek. They pulled away breathlessly for a moment but returned to the passionate kiss just as quickly.

"Joey..." Charlie panted breathlessly as Joey's lips moved down her jaw and towards her neck "Wait...Wait a minute" she grabbed Joey's hand which was trailing down her stomach.

"Huh?" Joey pulled back slightly and paled at the alarmed look Charlie was wearing "Oh...I'm sorry Charlie. I didn't mean to put any pressure on you or..."

"It's okay" Charlie sighed sadly as Joey lay back down next to her "It's not your fault" Joey offered no response and Charlie continued after a couple of minutes of silence "I want to...I'm just scared, y'know?"

"Scared of what?" Joey shifted slightly to look at the older girl and took her hand gently.

Charlie turned onto her side to look into Joey's eyes "I'm scared that what Hugo said is right...That all I'm good for is a 'good lay'"

"No!" Joey shook her head instantly and sat up "He's not right Charlie. Not at all. What he said couldn't be further from the truth. You're smart and funny and Beautiful and...Strong! You're amazing Charlie...I could never think anything like what he says about you, you know that. I lo...I care about you a lot!"

"Really?" Charlie sniffled tearfully.

"Really" Joey leaned forward and kissed her tenderly "And if you're not ready for this I'm not going to pressure you. I promise"

"I am ready" Charlie smiled as she kissed Joey again "I really want to be with you Joey..."

Joey smiled softly and leaned forward to kiss the other girl passionately. They fell lightly back onto the bed and Charlie pulled Joey gently on top of her.

"You're sure?" Joey asked slightly breathlessly when they pulled back, her hands on the hem of Charlie's shirt.

"I'm sure" Charlie confirmed as she sat up slightly and lifted her arms to allow Joey to pull her shirt off in on fluid movement. The next few moment were a flurry of movement as their clothes were quickly removed.

Joey paused slightly above Charlie and gazed at her in amazement "God you're so beautiful"

Charlie blushed slightly at Joey's comment and leaned up to reclaim her lips in a heated kiss. She gasped as Joey's hands drifted gently over her neck and chest to come into contact with her breasts. At the sensation she arched into the soft touch.

"You're amazing..." Joey said softly as her lips followed the tracks of her hand slowly.

"Oh God..." Charlie gasped out loud at the sensations flowing through her body. After a moment she tugged Joey up and kissed her passionately.

"Charlie..." Joey panted softly as the older girl's hands caressed her body gently. She gasped out loud as Charlie's hand finally came into contact with her centre "Oh my God..." she pulled Charlie back into a fervent kiss and moved her own hand slowly down Charlie's stomach to come to rest on her wet heat.

"Joey!" Charlie gasped as they moved together in unison "Oh God..."

They both picked up their pace and after a couple of minutes they gasped and their bodies tensed as their climax washed over them. They collapsed against each other and lay breathing heavily for a few minutes before their ability to speak returned.

"Oh My God..." Charlie whispered "That was...Wow!"

"I thought so too" Joey chuckled as she gathered Charlie in her arms. She was slightly surprised however when the other girl burst into tears "Charlie? What is it? What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry" Charlie laughed tearfully "I'm such a cliché. It's just...I've never felt like this before. With Hugo...He was so distant afterwards. I've never been held after I've...y'know"

Joey smiled sadly and leaned down placing a soft kiss on Charlie's lips "Well you deserve to be. He was just an idiot"

"Thanks Joey" Charlie smiled as Joey drew the blankets up around them for warmth and they snuggled close together "I know I've said this a lot but...It really means a lot that you care so much for me"

"Always" Joey beamed as she wrapped her arms around Charlie and kissed her cheek gently. After a matter of moments they both fell into a peaceful slumber.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

"Hey" Joey smiled as she wrapped her arms gently around her girlfriend from behind "What are you doing out here when we have a warm bed _inside_?"

"I was just thinking" Charlie sighed and leaned back into Joey's embrace, keeping her gaze trained on the vast area of water before them.

"You miss your daughter" Joey stated knowingly as she pressed a light kiss to the older girl's neck "That's understandable"

Charlie turned around in Joey's arms and smiled at her "How did you know that's what I was thinking about?"

"I'm psychic" Joey joked before her expression turned slightly more serious "Seriously though Charlie...It's okay to Miss Ruby Charlie"

"I know" Charlie released a heavy sigh "My feelings are just really conflicting right now. On one hand I really want to get off the boat so I can see her but...at the same time I don't want to return to reality. I just want to stay here with you..." she trailed off with a faint blush.

"That's sweet" Joey smiled adoringly at her "But like you said when we get back onto dry land we'll be fine. We don't need this boat to be together Charlie"

"I know that" Charlie smiled and leaned forward placing a soft kiss on Joey's lips "Thanks Joey"

"Anytime" Joey beamed "Especially if that's my reward" she pulled Charlie closer to her and returned the kiss before pulling away to look at her "Now how about we go back inside? It's freezing!"

"Fine" Charlie laughed as she allowed herself to be led off the deck and back towards Joey's room. When they finally reached it she slumped down onto the bed only just noticing how could it actually was outside. She shivered slightly and slid under the covers pulling them tightly around herself.

"See?!" Joey smirked as she closed the door and turned around to face Charlie "I told you it was cold!"

"Yeah, Whatever. You were right as always" Charlie grumbled though she was grinning as she patted the spot next to her "Now would you please get over here?!"

"Your wish is my command" Joey jumped onto the bed next to Charlie and moved quickly under the covers. She smiled contentedly when Charlie scooted close and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"So..." Joey said softly interrupting the comfortable silence which had descended upon them "Was there any particular reason you were feeling home sick?" she turned her gaze towards Charlie.

"Ruby text me" Charlie smiled softly "We must have finally gotten reception or something because I've been out of range so far..."

"Hmmn" Joey nodded thoughtfully "So what did she say? I mean you don't have to tell me or anything..."

Charlie shifted position slightly and pulled her phone out of her pocket before she handed it silently towards Joey. Joey's eyes lingered on Charlie's for a moment before she looked down at the phone, pressing a button to illuminate the screen.

_Hey Mum! Don't know if you'll get this where you are but I just wanted to say I really miss you! Can't wait for you to get back home. Tell Hugo I'm glad he hasn't fallen overboard (If he hasn't!). Make sure you sound appropriately sarcastic :) Hurry home and be careful. Love Rubz xoxo_

Joey smiled at the sweet message and looked back up at Charlie "You must miss her like hell"

"I do" Charlie replied softly as she snuggled closer into Joey's warm embrace "But being with you is really helping Jo. I'd be going insane if I was still with Hugo"

"Well than it's a good thing I'm here than" Joey moved forward and kissed the other girl lightly allowing her lips to linger for a moment "And I plan on sticking around"

"Good" Charlie smiled as she entwined their hands between them "Jo?"

"Hmmn?" Joey hummed her gaze still on their joined hands.

"About last night..." Charlie started slowly and Joey looked up in alarm.

"You're not regretting it are you?"

"No" Charlie smiled and shook her head "Not at all...I was just going to say that last night was amazing. I've never felt so...Connected to somebody before"

"Me neither" Joey agreed honestly.

"I think..." Charlie swallowed nervously and sat up slightly a serious expression settling on her features "I think that..."

"What?" Joey frowned and sat up placing her hand comfortingly on Charlie's cheek to urge eye contact "What is it Charlie? You can tell me..."

"I think that I'm in love with you" Charlie said sincerely as she looked into Joey's eyes "No...I know I am"

"Oh..." Joey froze for a moment and her hand dropped from Charlie's cheek onto the bed between them "Well, uh..."

Charlie frowned at Joey's reaction to her heartfelt statement "Joey..."

"Erm..." Joey pulled back slightly and looked around in what seemed like panic "I...uh..."

"I'm sorry!" Charlie exclaimed feeling the sudden need to apologise though she didn't know why "Maybe I shouldn't have just come out with that if you don't feel the same way..."

"its okay" Joey stood up not even appearing to have heard what Charlie said. She pulled her shoes on quickly and grabbed her jacket "I just have to go...do something. I'll be back soon"

Charlie watched in shock as Joey rushed from the room closing the door behind her.

"Damn it..." Charlie sighed and slumped back onto the bed pulling the covers over her head as tears formed in her eyes and Hugo's words rang in her head.

"_Nobody else would put up with your crap like I do, though I don't know why I bloody bother! I've told you once and I'll tell you again. The only thing you're good for is a good lay!"_

_---_

"Shit..." Joey swore as she slowed her run down slightly. She stopped at the edge of the boat and looked down at the waves crashing together below her as she felt nausea well up in her stomach "Why the hell do I have to do this?!"

"Not with your...or should I say _my _Girlfriend today?!" a bitter voice sounded from behind her "That's unusual"

Joey swung around to glare at Hugo who stood smirking in front of her "Go away Hugo. I don't want to talk to you" she stepped away from the railing just to be on the safe side.

"No" Hugo answered darkly "You stole my girlfriend!"

"No, I didn't" Joey rolled her eyes at him "She left you because you thought it was fun to use her as a punching bag not because of anything I did"

"Whatever" Hugo muttered and shook his head. He gazed at her intently for a moment before his expression darkened "Where's your bodyguard anyway?"

Joey looked mystified for a moment before she realised he was talking about Aden "I don't know" she shrugged casually.

Hugo seemed annoyed that he couldn't get a reaction from her and smirked "So haven't you left Charlie yet? You will eventually you know"

"No, I won't!" Joey said firmly "Just back off Hugo" she began to walk away.

"You'll realise..." Hugo blocked her path by stepping in front of her "That she's a waste of your time. She knows it and you know it. I've told her time and time again that she doesn't deserve love...that she's only goo..."

Joey felt anger and guilt course through her at the realisation of how big an effect her reaction to Charlie's declaration of love could have had. She pulled her hand back quickly and punched Hugo across the face without even thinking about it. He seemed shocked that she had dared to hit him and lifted a hand to his cheek as he gaped at her.

"You're pathetic" Joey growled furiously as she stepped forward into his personal space "You hit her and tell her all of this crap...That she's not worth anything and that the only thing she's good for is a 'good lay'?" she prodded him forcefully in the chest trying to ignore the pain from her hand "Well let me tell you something Hugo. Charlie...She's kind and funny and loving and Beautiful. She's worth a fucking million of you!" Joey felt tears stinging her eyes but pushed them back stubbornly "You're pathetic" with that said she turned on her heel and fled.

"Whoa! Where's the fire?!"

Joey looked up as she collided with somebody only to see Aden standing in front of her concern in his eyes.

"Hey" he pulled her to the side of the boat away from the crowd when he noticed her tears "What's wrong?"

"I did something..." Joey sniffled and wiped her tears with her hand "I think I might have accidently hurt Charlie's feelings. Badly"

"Okay..." Aden frowned and moved them over to a nearby seat "Tell me about it...What happened exactly?"

"She said that she loved me!" Joey answered tearfully as she grasped his hand tightly "And I just froze Ade. Then I ran out"

"Oh..." Aden bit his lip thoughtfully "Right"

"I don't know why I can't just _say it!"_ Joey said quietly as she leaned into his side "I should be able to because I _feel it_ Aden! I do..."

"Joey" Aden looked intently into the young girl's eyes "This is not your fault. You know that. This is something you've been dealing with for a while. You just have to explain that to Charlie. She'll understand, I'm sure"

Joey nodded sadly "I hope so..."

---

"Charlie?" Joey burst through the door to her cabin "I'm sorry about before..." she stopped short when she noticed Charlie sitting unsurely on the bed "Hey"

"Hey" Charlie looked up and smiled weakly at her.

"I'm sorry" Joey moved forward and sat next to Charlie on the bed "For running out on you before...It's really not what you think Charlie"

"It's okay" Charlie shrugged half-heartedly "If you don't feel the same way...I understand that. I understand why you couldn't..."

"No!" Joey interrupted quickly "That's not it at all Charlie. I care about you. I do. And I'm not saying that I don't ...y'know but this is something I have to work through. They're my issues and I'll deal with them. I promise"

"It's not me?" Charlie asked in a small voice "Because Hugo..."

"Is wrong!" Joey interrupted her with a soft kiss "He's wrong Charlie. You're amazing and...I care about you more than I ever thought possible but...I just can't _say it_"

Charlie frowned and tilted her head thoughtfully "If you want to talk about it you can. I'm here to listen"

"I know" Joey smiled gratefully "I know that. I do trust you. And I will tell you why sometime. This is just something I need to get past. You understand, right?"

Charlie nodded and smiled softly at Joey "I guess I'm not the only one with issues?"

"No" Joey laughed quietly "I guess we're both a bit broken in places"

"But we can fix each other" Charlie leaned forward and kissed Joey passionately, pulling her close "Can't we?"

"You know what?" Joey smiled "I have a feeling that we can" she pulled Charlie back into the kiss.

---

"I don't care" Hugo smirked "My way off this boat is already taken care of and if you do what I say yours will be too"

"But..." the man in front of him tried to protest again but was cut off by Hugo.

"Either you're with me or you're not. Either way they're going to pay" Hugo smirked evilly as he swigged his beer "And this ship is going down"

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys thanks so much for all of the reviews. I really appreciate them. Sorry for the rather shirt chapter and the cliff-hanger at the end. Only a couple more chapters to go with this story I think but...The sequel to Bless the broken road is coming really soon. Drama, angst, fluff, Ruby and Charlie and Joey loving guaranteed! **

Chapter 10

Charlie glanced over as they walked hand in hand along the deck. The light was fading form the day but she could still see the grin that lit Joey's features "What are you so happy about?"

"Hmmn?" Joey looked over at her smile still firmly in place "What's not to be happy about? I'm here with the most beautiful woman on earth so...I'm ecstatically happy"

Charlie blushed slightly at the compliment as they came to a stop at the front of the boat "Well I don't know about that..."

"Hey" Joey pressed closer to Charlie and placed a hand under her chin lifting gently so their eyes met. She smiled adoringly "You are the most beautiful woman in the world" she leaned forward and kissed the other girl gently allowing her lips to linger for an extra moment.

Charlie smiled and glanced around slowly when they eventually pulled away "Hey...Do you know where we are?"

"Um...on a ship?" Joey grinned cheekily as she leaned against the railing and glanced down into the dark waters.

"Smart-ass" Charlie nudged Joey playfully "I mean...This is where our first kiss happened. Our first real kiss that is not the one before that..."

"Oh" Joey looked over at Charlie and nodded "So the one before that didn't count?"

"No" Charlie shook her head surely "Especially since I freaked out on you straight afterwards. This is definitely the place of our first kiss"

"Yeah..." Joey raised a hand to Charlie's cheek and stroked it softly "I guess you're right. But..." she lowered her hand to trail it down Charlie's arm "Wasn't this also the place you attempted to jump off the boat?" she wrapped her arms around the older girl's waist and pulled her close "Not planning on jumping anytime soon are you?"

Charlie smiled as she caught the hit of worry in Joey's voice "I haven't felt like jumping since I left him Jo. When I'm with you...I would never willingly let go like that"

"Good" Joey smiled softly at her "Because like I said the waters freezing and well...If you jumped I'd have to jump right in after you"

"Really?" Charlie smiled shyly at Joey's words.

"Really" Joey confirmed with a soft kiss "There's no way in hell I'm going to lose you now Charlie. You're just...I mean I..." Joey trailed off and frowned at her own inability to express how she feels.

"Its okay" Charlie smiled in reassurance "I know. You don't have to say it"

"But I should be able to" Joey sighed sadly "I'm sorry Charlie..."

"You don't have to apologise to me" Charlie responded quietly "This is just something you have to work through. And I'm going to be there every step of the way. I'm here to listen anytime when you feel like talking"

"Thanks Charlie" Joey offered a small smile.

"Are you kidding?" Charlie laughed softly as they both turned to look towards the vast ocean in front of them and leaned against the railing "After all you've done for me Joey...This is the very least I can do. You don't know what you did by showing me real...love. You saved me"

Joey couldn't think of an answer and instead slid slightly closer to Charlie so their shoulders were touching. After a moment of comfortable silence she spoke up "I can't believe that we dock tomorrow night"

"Hmnn. I know" Charlie nodded in agreement "It doesn't seem like just a couple of weeks since I got on this ship" she glanced over at Joey and smiled lovingly "I never thought when I got on this ship that I would be getting off it free from Hugo...Happy...In love"

Joey beamed at her in response and Charlie turned back to the ocean content with the reaction.

"So..." Joey coughed slightly and nudged Charlie gently "Are you looking forward to being back on dry land?"

"Definitely" Charlie nodded with a smile "I can't wait to see Ruby again, plus..." she reached for Joey's hands and tangled their fingers slowly eliciting a content sigh from Joey "You'll be there with me when I get off the boat"

"I most certainly will" Joey nodded in confirmation.

"Good" Charlie stated happily. A sudden gust of cold wind caused her to shiver slightly.

"Are you cold?" Joey questioned in concern as she stepped away from the railing taking Charlie with her. She pulled the older girl gently into her arms.

"No" Charlie's voice was muffled slightly by Joey's shoulder.

"That's too bad" Joey whispered as she placed a gentle kiss on the soft skin of Charlie's neck "Because I could always warm you up you know..."

"Uh-huh" Charlie laughed nervously and pulled away slightly from the embrace "Maybe we should go back to your room than because..." she blushed slightly and trailed off.

"Because what?" Joey grinned at Charlie's adorable blush.

"Because if you keep doing that I may not be able to control myself anymore" Charlie answered her blush only brightening by the second.

"I knew it!" Joey grinned triumphantly.

"Knew what?" Charlie asked in confusion.

"You Charlie Buckton..." Joey leaned close to Charlie "Are warm for my form!"

"Uh..." Charlie laughed out loud when she realised what Joey had said "I can't believe you just said _warm for your form_ out loud Jo..."

"Actually...Neither can I" Joey cringed slightly "But that doesn't change the fact that you...want to kiss me, you want Huuuug me, you want to loooove me"

Charlie shook her head in amusement at what she had to admit was a pretty impressive Miss Congeniality Impression "That would have made even Sandra Bullock proud"

"Thank you!" Joey grinned.

"And for the record..." Charlie tugged Joey forward "I am _very_ warm for your form Joey Collins"

Joey swallowed heavily at the desire which laced Charlie's voice. A moment later her lips were claimed in a searing kiss which sent shockwaves through her body.

"Well what do we have here" a voice sounded suddenly.

Joey pulled away from the kiss and looked over to where the voice had come from. Her expression instantly dropped when she saw Hugo standing there "Why is it that you always turn up at the most inopportune times?"

Hugo smirked at her but kept his gaze locked on Charlie "I was actually hoping I could talk to you Charlie...Alone?"

Joey frowned and glanced at Charlie who tightened her grip on her hand.

"Whatever you have to say you can say it with Joey here" Charlie replied in a steely voice though there was still a hint of trepidation in her voice.

"Fine" Hugo tensed in anger but made no other move. He took a deep breath and attempted to soften his expression before he turned back to his ex "I just wanted to give you another chance to come back to me. I'm sorry about how I was before Charlie. I promise I'll do my best to change"

"Um..." Charlie gaped at him in unadulterated shock "I can't be with you Hugo. I don't love you"

Hugo frowned and stepped forward. He stopped however when Joey visibly tensed "Come on Charlie...That doesn't matter. You know that I care about you. I'm the only one who could besides your bratty daughter"

"Don't call her that!" Charlie exclaimed as her expression darkened.

"You know I'm right!" Hugo stated firmly "She couldn't love you Charlie...You know that. Everything I told you while we were together...It's all true. I mean I bet she hasn't even told you that she loves you, right? Because she can't!"

"I think you should shut up!" Joey said angrily when she noticed Charlie's posture deflate next to her showing that Hugo had hit a nerve. Joey couldn't help but feel guilty that she was the cause.

"I can't be with you" Charlie repeated slowly as she began to walk away with Joey.

"You don't know what you've done!" Hugo called after them. They merely carried walking until they reached Joey's room.

"I can't wait until he can't bother us anymore" Charlie sighed sadly as she watched Joey close the door "I hate that he can make me doubt myself like this...That he can make me doubt how you feel for me"

Joey stared at her guiltily for a moment before moving forward and capturing her lips in a passionate but impossibly tender kiss.

"What was that for?" Charlie gasped with a smile when they pulled apart for air.

"I'm going to show you..." Joey leaned forward and kissed Charlie slowly "Exactly how much I feel for you" she pulled back and pulled Charlie's shirt up and over her head, tossing it across the room. She gazed at her lovingly for a moment before she moved forward and kissed her passionately allowing her hands to tangle in dark hair. Charlie responded just as enthusiastically as her hands moved to Joey's waist. She stepped back and tumbled onto the bed pulling Joey with her.

---

Hugo sighed heavily as he watched Joey and Charlie leave. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled a number her had memorised.

"Keith?" he questioned when the phone was picked up "Do it. Do it right now!" he paused for a moment obviously listening to the voice on the other end "No, I'm not upset and I don't care how long it's going to take just fucking do it okay! Or...You know what will happen" he flipped the phone shut and smirked thoughtfully.

---

"Wow" Charlie panted as she snuggled close to Joey "That was...Wow. If that's how you feel for me I'm one lucky girl"

"Then I guess you are" Joey smiled indulgently as she ran her fingers slowly through Charlie's long dark hair. Her expression turned slightly more serious after a moment "Seriously though Charlie...You shouldn't listen t what Hugo says about us. You have no idea how much I feel for you...even though I can't say it right now..."

"Hey" Charlie sat up slightly in alarm when she noticed tears forming in Joey's eyes "It's okay Jo...I get It okay?" she leaned forward and kissed the other girl tenderly "It's okay. I can wait until you're ready. You know I love you"

Joey nodded slowly and offered a small smile as she looked up into Charlie's sincere blue eyes "I lo..." she was interrupted by a sharp Jolt to the ship which sent things flying from surfaces in the room. The lights flickered before finally dying and she immediately grabbed Charlie and held her close bracing herself for anything else that might happen. Charlie hung onto Joey just as tightly as terror flooded through her.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"What the hell was that?!" Charlie asked in panic as the lights flickered a couple of times before light once again filled the room.

"I don't know" Joey stood up and began to pull her clothes on quickly as Charlie did the same "Do you think the ship hit something?"

"We're in the middle of the ocean" Charlie said as she pulled her shirt on quickly "What are we going to hit? A whale?"

"There are icebergs around here" Joey answered as she sat on the bed and pulled on her shoes "Or we could have been hit by I don't know...A meteor"

"A meteor?" Charlie responded disbelievingly "Seriously Joey?!"

"Well Okay...Maybe not" Joey said as she stood up and grabbed Charlie's hand "But something else could have happened...Come on" she pulled the other girl towards the door "We should check it out"

"It's probably nothing..." Charlie sighed as she found herself being dragged from the room and towards the deck "Fine...Whatever"

"Oh My God..." Joey couldn't help the gasp that escaped her as she stopped on the deck only to find debris awaiting them "What the hell happened?!" she moved them quickly back against the wall so they were out of the way.

"I don't know" Charlie answered softly, fear evident in her voice "Maybe we _were_ hit by something"

"Stay here okay, Charlie?" Joey asked loudly over the panicked shouts of the other passengers "I'll be back in a minute"

"What?!" Charlie responded in alarm "No! Wait...Joey?!" she sighed heavily when Joey pulled her hand away and rushed off, promising to be back in a minute. She pressed herself against the wall and looked around anxiously at the people rushing around the deck. A few minutes passed and she felt herself growing more worried about Joey's whereabouts. She jumped slightly when a hand caught hers.

"Hey, It's only me" Joey soothed as she laced her fingers with the older girls.

"Joey!" Charlie launched herself into her girlfriends arms and hugged her tightly "Where the hell did you go? You were gone for ages! I thought you'd gotten lost or something!"

"I just went to check the boat" Joey explained as she began to walk them slowly along the deck without moving from against the wall "There's no icebergs around for miles but there is a huge hole in the side of the boat. Something _has _to have hit her but I don't know what"

"Shit" Charlie swore and bit her lip anxiously "That's definitely not good. Are we going to sink?"

"I don't know" Joey swallowed heavily as they both got back into the main parlour of the boat which was less crowded "I can't tell right now"

"Well what do we do?" Charlie asked in worry "You've been on ships before Joey...What do we have to do now?"

"I don't know. I've never been on a ship that's suck before" Joey responded as she glanced around in panic "People are saying that there aren't enough boats because someone messed with them...I don't know what to do!"

"Damn it..." Charlie whimpered slightly as she tightened her grip on Joey's hand "What about the captain? Shouldn't he be telling us what to do?"

Joey shrugged "I don't know Charlie..." she tugged her slightly closer to her side "We have to stay together though, okay? No matter what we don't get separated"

"Okay" Charlie nodded quickly "That's a good idea but...Now what?"

"I think we should..." Joey was interrupted a moment after she had finished speaking by a crowd of people who rushed through the parlour obviously trying to get to the deck. Unfortunately for Joey and Charlie they were right in the way of the doors.

"JOEY!" Charlie yelled as she was knocked slightly and her hand slipped from Joey's "Joey?!" she attempted to push through the crowd to find her girlfriend but to no avail as she only found herself being jostled even more "JOEY?!" she thought she heard Joey yell back at her but as the crowd dispersed Joey was nowhere to be found.

"No..." Charlie moved forward slightly and looked around the room "JOEY?!" when there was no response she felt tears rapidly gathering. She rushed quickly out of the room in hopes of finding the younger girl but no matter how hard she looked she couldn't find her.

"Charlie?" a male's voice sounded from behind her and Charlie spun around only to come face to face with Hugo "You need to get off the ship right now...It's going to sink!"

"No" Charlie shook her head instantly "Not without Joey. I'm not going anywhere if she isn't with me"

"You won't find her where she's gone" Hugo smirked evilly "I had one of my guys knock her out in the crowd you see...I think that stealing my girlfriend is reason enough for her to go down with this ship"

"You did what?!" Charlie asked angrily as she stepped forward "Where is she? Tell me where she is right now!"

"Do you really think I would set this whole thing up just to tell you where your stupid bloody girlfriend is?!" Hugo questioned "There's no way in hell I'm telling you!"

"You set this up?" Charlie appeared beyond incensed as she moved forward "If you don't tell me where she is right now I'm going to push you overboard myself. Tell me...NOW you bloody idiot!"

"Uh..." Hugo appeared stunned at Charlie's yell but did his best to keep his composure "Um...Bottom deck by now. But you won't be able to get to her anyway. It's bound to be half floo...CHARLIE!" he watched as she rushed off and silently cursed himself for telling her where Joey was.

"Suppose I should catch my boat than" he smirked before he whirled around and moved from the room "They'll get what they deserve"

---

"Joey?!" Charlie rushed all the way down to the lower decks as quickly as she could yelling the entire way. She paused slightly as she noticed the water had gotten too high for her to walk through. After a moment she took a deep breath and dived under suddenly grateful for the lifejacket that had been shoved into her hands. She reached the other side of the barrier and came up for air quickly. She noticed immediately that it was darker on this side "Joey?!" she waded through the water slowly intent on getting to the other girl.

"Charlie?!" a voice called weakly from one of the rooms down the corridor.

"Joey..." Charlie muttered to herself as she began to speed up "JOEY!"

"I'M IN HERE!" Joey's voice sounded loudly through the corridor.

Charlie finally reached the room Joey was in and burst through the door quickly "Joey..." she rushed over to the other girl and threw her arms around her "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" Joey smiled weakly as she indicated towards the handcuffs she was in "A bit tied up but other than that..." she frowned suddenly as she noticed Charlie's appearance "What about you? You look soaked"

"The water's deep out there" Charlie explained as she motioned towards the doorway "We need to get you out of here Jo..."

"The axe" Joey nodded to the wall behind Charlie where an axe was hanging "Just...Y'know"

"What?" Charlie asked in alarm "What if I hurt you?! I could cut your hand off"

"It's a risk we'll have to take" Joey winced at the thought as she watched Charlie take the axe from the wall.

"Okay..." Charlie hesitantly lifted the axe up "Ready?"

"Ready" Joey said as she placed the chain of the handcuffs on the pipe underneath her "Wait! Don't close your eyes! Are you insane?! You really will cut my hand off!"

"Sorry" Charlie opened her eyes and looked at Joey "Nerves"

"Just do it quickly" Joey advised nervously "And don't close your eyes"

"Okay..." Charlie raised the axe above her head "Ready?"

"Ready" Joey closed her eyes quickly.

"1...2...3!" Charlie brought he axe down quickly on the chain between Joey's wrists, effectively separating it.

"You did it!" Joey yelled as Charlie dropped the axe. She quickly engulfed her in a tight embrace and kissed her quickly "But what the hell were you thinking risking your life by coming down here?! You could have drowned!"

"I had to come get you" Charlie shrugged as she pulled her jacket tighter around herself "I would never leave you"

"Come on..." Joey grabbed Charlie's hand "We have to get out of here right now!"

---

"Joey what are we going to do?!" Charlie panted as they managed to clamber up onto the deck only to find that the ship was already beginning to sink.

"We have to stay on the boat for as long as possible!" Joey yelled over the noise "Try to stay out of the water..." she pulled Charlie through the crowds quickly. She looked up and gasped as she spotted a large piece of debris flying towards them. She spun around quickly with Charlie in her arms and pressed against the wall making sure to cover the older girl's body with her own.

"That was close" she panted breathlessly when the piece of metal flew past them. She pulled Charlie quickly up the slippery surface of the deck towards the back of the boat, which was now tilted up slightly.

"Climb onto the railing!" she instructed loudly. She watched as Charlie quickly climbed onto the railing in front of her and followed quickly.

"Joey?!" Charlie asked in dread "How are we going to get out of this?"

Joey found she had no answer and instead held onto Charlie even tighter "You're going to have to take a deep breath just before we hit the water Charlie" she said quietly into the older girl's ear "The water is going to be freezing...You have to be ready for it to hit you or you'll go into shock"

"Okay" Charlie nodded her understanding though she was visibly trembling from both fear and the freezing cold air around them.

"Don't let go of my hand okay?" Joey said slowly "No matter what. Hold onto me"

"I will" Charlie nodded slowly as they came closer and closer to hitting the water...


	12. Chapter 12

**Here it is...The last chapter. Thanks so much for all of your lovely reviews. They really inspire me to keep writing (Even though admittedly this story was definitely not my best). Thanks especially to blu74, Livingthedays and Jsco81 who reviewed every chapter! Thanks guys! **

**Oh and the sequel to Bless the broken road should be up soon though I don't know If I should start it as a new story or just continue in BTBR...? I have no idea...**

Chapter 12

Charlie barely recalled taking a deep breath as Joey instructed her to do before the freezing water of the ocean had completely surrounded her. All she was aware of was the savage cold of the water and the soft hand she held tightly in her own. Charlie felt a jolt of panic as the barely warm hand she had been holding was pulled from her grasp. She opened her eyes and looked around under the water but found that she couldn't see anything sue to the darkness. The need to surface became quickly apparent as a burning began in her lungs. She quickly swam up and surfaced with a huge gasp.

"JOEY!" Charlie glanced quickly around in fear as she found herself alone amongst the panic around her "JOEY!"

A hand grabbed her arm roughly and Charlie spun around fully aware of the fact that Joey's touch was softer. She was met with the furious face of Hugo who obviously hadn't been able to find a boat.

"HEY!" a second later Hugo was spun around and punched hard.

"JO!" Charlie swam quickly towards the younger girl and hugged her tightly "Thank God you're okay...Why did you let go of my hand?! You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry" Joey apologised softly as she pulled away from the hug and grabbed Charlie's hand gently in her own "Come on...You need to get out of the water. It's too cold"

"Yeah..." Charlie nodded as she allowed herself to be dragged through the water by Joey away from the crowds of panicked people.

"That should do!" Joey panted as she spotted a reasonable sized piece of wood. They swam over and stopped next to it "Climb on..."

"But..." Charlie was about to protest as she noticed that the makeshift raft wasn't big enough for them both.

"Charlie just do it!" Joey snapped her voice coming out sharper than she intended "I'm sorry...But please Charlie?"

Charlie sighed and begrudgingly climbed onto the raft with Joey's help.

"It's going to be okay" Joey said reassuringly as she drifted to the front of the piece of wood and took Charlie's hand in her own "There'll be boats. They'll come back"

"Joey the water's too cold for you to stay in..." Charlie panted her breath visible against the cold "You'll freeze!"

"I'll be okay" Joey said reassuringly even though they both shaking visibly "I'm used to the cold. I go on boats a lot remember?"

"You said none of them have sunk" Charlie reminded her shakily "Which means that you're not really used to it...Are you?"

"No" Joey chuckled softly "But it's okay...We'll get out of this soon" she looked towards the ship as fear flitted across her features "Aden..."

"Oh My God" Charlie gasped suddenly as she too looked to her left at the vessel a short distance from them "He was on the boat..."

Joey nodded and swallowed heavily "I'm sure he's fine" even as she said this she felt tears form in her eyes.

Charlie nodded slowly "He's tough. He'll be okay"

They fell back into silence apart from the occasional yell from next to the boat.

"This is my fault" Charlie sniffled suddenly causing Joey to look up at her sharply.

"What?!"

"Hugo..." Charlie said quietly "He said that he did this...Because of me. All of those people are hurt and dead because of me. If I hadn't left him..."

"No" Joey shook her head quickly shocked at the revelation "This isn't your fault Charlie. You're not responsible for his crazy actions. You know that"

"There are no boats are there Joey?" the older girl asked sadly "Nobody's going to come back. We're going t...to die here"

"No!" Joey said firmly as she squeezed Charlie's hand "Don't think like that. Somebody will come back!"

"Ruby..." Charlie whimpered as her thoughts turned to her daughter "I'm never going to see her again. I always let Hugo pull me away from her. And he's going to do it permanently now..."

"Stop it!" Joey yelled hoarsely as she tried to push back her own tears"You're not going to die, okay Charlie? You're going to get out of this and you're going to go home to your daughter!"

Charlie appeared too panicked to notice that Joey hadn't included herself in that statement and she merely nodded.

"When I was younger..." Joey said breathily as realised she needed to distract Charlie and keep herself awake "I lived with my Parents and my sister Katie..." she looked up to make sure that Charlie was listening to her and found herself gazing into familiar blue eyes "Katie...She was the brain-box of the family... Always getting straight A's. Me? I was a bit of a rebel" she laughed softly recalling that time in her life even as she felt her consciousness fading slowly because of the cold water "But we were really close. She always looked out for me, no matter what. I was her first priority"

Charlie nodded slowly for her to continue.

"Then one night Katie and my parents had some kind of meeting at the school about her progress..." Joey smiled tearfully as she thought back "My sister...She wanted to be a doctor because she wanted to help people" her smile faded suddenly "On the way there a car hit theirs. The other driver was drunk apparently. '_Driving under the influence'_...they parents and sister died on impact while the driver got out of it without a scratch on him. The last thing I said to Katie was 'I Love you' and...I haven't been able to say it since then"

"Joey..." Charlie reached out sympathetically with her free hand and stroked the younger girl's cold cheek.

"But now..." Joey sniffled back her tears and blinked rapidly against oncoming darkness as she felt the cold spread through her "With you...I love you Charlie"

Charlie inhaled deeply as tears flooded her eyes at the realisation of what Joey was trying to do.

"You have to remember that...I love you with all my heart. You have to hold onto that" Joey choked back a sob as she gripped Charlie's hand even tighter "Never let go Charlie..."

"I'll never let go" Charlie swore softly "I promise but...You're going to be okay. The boats will be here soon"

Joey merely shook her head sadly.

---

"HELLO? IS ANYONE OUT THERE?!"

A sharp shout caused Charlie to jolt awake from her fitful slumber. She gasped as she felt the cold return to her body.

"HELLO?!" the voice sounded again and Charlie looked up to see a light a short distance away. She quickly turned back to Joey and tried to shake her awake "Joey?!" when there was no response she continued in panic her voice coming out in a hoarse whisper "Joey Wake up...You can't do this to me...JOEY?!" she breathed a small sigh of relief when Joey began to stir. Small Icicles had begun to form on the younger girl's hair and limbs and her lips were tinged blue. Despite her own problems Charlie was instantly worried for her as she began to wonder how much longer her girlfriend would last.

"There's a boat!" she smiled weakly at Joey when the younger girl opened her eyes.

"I can't move" Joey coughed "You have to swin for it Charlie!"

"I can't!" Charlie said instantly "I'm not leaving you here!"

"I'll only hold you up" Joey said softly "Go Charlie! I know you can do it. You'll have to blow the whistle!"

Charlie frowned as she noticed Joey was finding it hard to breathe "Okay..." she slowly rolled off the raft and into the water. She released a gasp as the freezing cold of the water hit her. She looked at Joey as she pulled her hand away "I'll come back...I'll never let go, remember?"

"Right" Joey smiled weakly as she struggled to hold onto the raft.

Charlie turned and quickly spotted a man holding a whistle. She cautiously swam over to him and pulled the whistle from his grip lifting it to her own numb lips. She took a deep breath and blew hard, putting ever ounce of her strength into making as much noise as possible.

"Stop!" a man's voice sounded "Somebody's alive back there!" the torch was quickly turned and the boat began to make it's way back to Joey and Charlie.

Minutes later they found themselves being pulled from the freezing depths of the water and blankets being wrapped quickly around them.

"We made it Jo!" Charlie said weakly as the boat began to make its way back to the dock.

"We made it" Joey smiled weakly.

---

"MUM!" Ruby jumped up as Charlie walked into the room with Joey at her side "Are you okay?!" she rushed over to her mother and hurled herself into her expectant arms.

"I'm fine" Charlie smiled tearfully as she held Ruby close to her.

"I was so scared!" Ruby pulled back by a fraction of an inch to look into Charlie's eyes "Don't ever do that again?! Got it? I don't know what I'd do if I lost you..."

"Got it" Charlie smiled softly as Ruby pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"Oh!" Ruby smiled as she noticed Joey and held out her hand "Hey. I'm Ruby. And you are...?"

"Joey" Joey smiled nervously as she shook the younger girl's hand "I've heard a lot about you..."

"All good I hope" Ruby glanced over at Charlie and winked.

"Definitely nothing bad" Joey nodded with a smile as she nudged Charlie gently "She was missing you like crazy...Couldn't stop talking about you"

"Really?" Ruby blushed slightly and looked over at her mother who shrugged sheepishly.

"Joey's my girlfriend" Charlie announced suddenly.

"Uh..." Ruby looked from Charlie to Joey and back her eyes wide in shock "When...What about Hugo?"

"I left him" Charlie smiled as she glanced at Joey "He was still beating me up Rubz..."

"Charlie..." Ruby sighed sadly as her expression dropped.

"But Joey helped me out of it!" Charlie continued happily "She helped me get away from him..."

"Oh..." Ruby turned and smiled at Joey "Well than welcome to the family I guess. I've been trying to get her to break up with him for ages but..."

"But?" Joey asked nervously.

"Do you love Charlie?" Ruby crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Joey in a defensive manner "Are you planning on hurting her at all? Because If you are I'm going to have to..."

"Ruby!" Charlie blushed at her daughter's over-protectiveness "Sorry Jo...She's just overprotective"

"It's okay" Joey smiled as she turned back to Ruby "As for your questions...Yes I do love her. More than I've ever loved anyone actually. And no I never plan on hurting her"

"Good" Ruby beamed in satisfaction "That's good..." she turned to Charlie and motioned upstairs "I'll just be a minute okay...Give you lovers some time alone" she grinned mischievously and rushed off leaving Charlie blushing behind her.

"You're right" Joey smiled as they sat on the couch "She is great" she sighed contentedly when Charlie snuggled close to her "I told you we would make it back...We're okay...Aden's Okay"

"I know" Charlie leaned up and kissed Joey softly "You were right as usual. I love you Joey Collins"

"I love you too Charlie Buckton" with that they leaned forward and shared a tender kiss.

They had made it.

THE END


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